Captain

Captain is both a nautical term and a military rank. The word came to English via French from the Latin capitaneus ("chief") which is itself derived from the Latin word for "head" (caput).

Nautical

Captain is the legal status of the master of a ship at sea and, on most legal documents in the merchant shipping industry, he or she is referred to as the Master. A nautical captain may be a civilian or a naval commissioned officer of any rank. As the commander of a vessel under way, a nautical captain has enormous legal powers, including the right to use deadly force to suppress piracy and mutiny. Mutiny is not simply the crime of disobeying the lawful orders of a nautical captain at sea, but rather doing so with the intent of taking over the ship. However, contrary to popular belief, a captain of a ship does not have any special legal power to conduct a marriage.

Related Topics:
Master - Ship - Civilian - Commissioned officer - Deadly force - Piracy - Mutiny

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The captain of a ship at sea is in absolute command of that vessel even if higher-ranking persons are aboard. If higher-ranking persons give orders to the nautical captain, such persons are very careful to say what they want done rather than specifying how the orders are to be carried out, because even higher rank does not give them the right to interfere in how a captain runs the ship.

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The traditional sleeve emblem for captains both merchant and naval is four gold stripes (often called "rings") on the lower sleeve or shoulderboard. Many navies follow the precedent of the Royal Navy and have an "executive loop" on the top or inner ring. In the Royal Navy, the stripes and rings are called Nelsons if the ring sits above the stripe, and Half Nelson if only half above the stripe.

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The officer who is ranked immediately below the Captain is designated the First Officer, or "Chief Mate" (also Executive Officer or First Lieutenant), and is responsible for implementing the orders of the Captain as well as conferring with the Captain on matters concerning the ship. This "second in command" is typically responsible (along with the senior enlisted petty officer) for maintaining minor discipline on the ship.

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In older times, a Captain was a nobleman given responsibility over a ship, but was not likely to have any nautical experience. The next officer of the ship would be the Ship's Master, who would carry out the executive functions of a Captain, while the Captain filled a ceremonial and legal role.

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