Kapitän
See also: kapitan and kapitán
German
1. ein Kapitän
Etymology
From Middle High German kapitān, borrowed (13th c.) in the military sense from Old French capitaine (“leader”), from Late Latin capitāneus. The nautical sense (15th c.) follows Italian capitano. The sport sense (early 20th c.) follows English captain.
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /kapiˈtɛːn/, [ka.piˈtɛːn], [-pɪ-], [-ˈteːn]
Audio (file)
Noun
Kapitän m (strong, genitive Kapitäns or (rare, nonstandard) Kapitänes, plural Kapitäne, feminine Kapitänin)
- (nautical, aviation) captain
- Synonyms: (all informal) Käpt'n, Käpten, Kaptein
- 1915, Else Ury, Nesthäkchen im Kinderheim; in: 2016, Karl-Maria Guth (editor), Nesthäkchen Gesamtausgabe in zwei Bänden. Erster Band, p. 327:
- Es war Frau Kapitän Clarsen, Annemaries Pensionsmutter.
- (please add an English translation of this quote)
- (military, navy) Short for Kapitän zur See (“captain: high-level officer rank equivalent to an army colonel”).
- (other military, obsolete, except in translation of cognate words) captain (medium-level officer rank)
- Synonym: Hauptmann
- (sports) captain (player who leads a team and serves as contact person for the referee)
- Synonym: Spielführer
Declension
Declension of Kapitän [masculine, strong]
| singular | plural | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| indef. | def. | noun | def. | noun | |
| nominative | ein | der | Kapitän | die | Kapitäne |
| genitive | eines | des | Kapitäns, Kapitänes1 | der | Kapitäne |
| dative | einem | dem | Kapitän, Kapitäne1,2 | den | Kapitänen |
| accusative | einen | den | Kapitän | die | Kapitäne |
1Rare, nonstandard.
2Now uncommon, see notes.
Related terms
- Flottenkapitän
- Flugkapitän
- Fregattenkapitän
- Kapitänleutnant
- Kapitänsbinde
- Kapitänskajüte (Kajüte des Kapitäns)
- Korvettenkapitän
Further reading
- “Kapitän” in Duden online
- “Kapitän” in Digitales Wörterbuch der deutschen Sprache
Plautdietsch
Noun
Kapitän m (plural Kapitäns)
- captain