captain: [14] Etymologically, a captain is someone who is at the ‘head’ of an organization, team, etc. It derives ultimately from late Latin capitāneus ‘chief’, a derivative of caput ‘head’, which came to English via Old French capitain. A parallel but earlier formation was chieftain, which also came from late Latin capitāneus, but along a different route, by way of Old French chevetaine. => chieftain
captain (n.)
late 14c., capitayn, "a leader, chief, one who stands at the head of others," from Old French capitaine "captain, leader," from Late Latin capitaneus "chief," noun use of adjective capitaneus "prominent, chief," from Latin caput (genitive capitis) "head" (see capitulum).
Military sense of "officer who commands a company" (rank between major and lieutenant) is from 1560s; naval sense of "officer who commands a man-of-war" is from 1550s, extended to "master or commander of a vessel of any kind" by 1704. Sporting sense is first recorded 1823.
captain (v.)
1590s, from captain (n.). Related: Captained; captaining.
雙語例句
1. "Ah, Captain Fox," Martin McGuinness said affably. "Nice to see you again."
“啊，福克斯上尉，”馬丁·麥吉尼斯親切地說，“很高興再次見到您。”
來自柯林斯例句
2. Captain Cook safely navigated his ship without accident for 100 voyages.
庫克船長駕駛的船安全出航100次無事故。
來自柯林斯例句
3. Captain David Clement and 150 commandos stormed the port this morning.