D defs.my
Entry 4 senses · 3 variants Webster, 1913

Captain

/(kăp"tĭn)/ · Cap·tain · IPA /ˈkæp.tən/
01 n. A head, or chief officer
  1. 1.
    A head, or chief officer
    “A trainband captain eke was he.” Cowper.
    “The Rhodian captain, relying on . . . the lightness of his vessel, passed, in open day, through all the guards.” Arbuthnot.
  2. 2.
    A military leader; a warrior.
    “Foremost captain of his time.” Tennyson.
Phrases & compounds
Captain general — The commander in chief of an army or armies, or of the militia.
Captain lieutenant — a lieutenant with the rank and duties of captain but with a lieutenant's pay, -- as in the first company of an English regiment.
02 v. t. To act as captain of; to lead.
  1. 1.
    To act as captain of; to lead.[R.]
    “Men who captained or accompanied the exodus from existing forms.” Lowell.
03 a. Chief; superior.
  1. 1.
    Chief; superior.[R.]
    captain jewes in the carcanet.” Shak.