captain
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thumb | right | Captain of a ship during a U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service mission Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader or highest rank officer of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police department, election precinct, etc. In militaries, the captain is typically at the level of an officer commanding a company or battalion of infantry, a ship, or a battery of artillery, or another distinct unit. It can also be a rank of command in an air force. The term also may
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Article
13 sectionsContents
- Etymology
- Occupations or roles
- Military ranks
- Canada
- Germany
- India
- Israel
- South Africa
- United Kingdom
- United States
- Generic
- See also
- References
thumb | right | Captain of a ship during a U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service mission Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader or highest rank officer of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police department, election precinct, etc. In militaries, the captain is typically at the level of an officer commanding a company or battalion of infantry, a ship, or a battery of artillery, or another distinct unit. It can also be a rank of command in an air force. The term also may be used as an informal or honorary title for persons in similar commanding roles.
==Etymology== The word "captain" derives from the Middle English "capitane", itself coming from the Latin "caput", meaning "head". It is considered cognate with the Greek word (, , or "the topmost"), which was used as title for a senior Byzantine military rank and office. The word was Latinized as . Both ultimately derive from the Proto-Indo-European "*káput", also meaning head.