CAPTAIN, noun 1. Literally, a head or chief officer; appropriately, the military officer who commands a company, whether of infantry, cavalry, artillery or matrosses. 2. The commander of a ship of war, or of a merchantman. But the latter is often called a master. 3. The commander of a military band, a sense that occurs in the sciptures; as a captain of fifty. 4. A man skilled in war or military affairs; as, Lord Wellington is a great captain 5. A chief commander. Shak. But in this sense rarely used, but in composition. CAPTAIN-GENERAL, is the commander in chief of an army, or of the militia. The governor of a state is Captain-General of the militia. CAPTAIN-LIEUTENANT, is an officer, who with the rank of captain and pay of lieutenant, commands a company or troop. Thus the colonel of a regiment being the captain of the first company, that company is commanded by a Captain-Lieutenant. CAPTAIN-BANSHAW, or Capudan Bashaw, in Turkey, is the High Admiral. CAPTAIN, adjective Chief; valiant.
Source: Webster's 1828 American Dictionary ↗ · public-domain · returned verbatim, no AI