English → Latin
“captain” in Latin
duxleader, head; commander, general, captain; prince, rulerimperōto command, give orders to, impose, demand; to rule, governpraetorleader, head, chief, president; praetor (office)centuriōcenturion; commander of a hundred men; captainna͡uarchuscaptain, skipperlatrōmercenary; highwayman; brigand, bandit; robber; chessman, pawnarchipīrātapirate chief
The English word captain itself goes back to Latin caput, through capitāneus.
Riddle & Arnold A Copious and Critical English–Latin Lexicon, 1864
captain
commander, general, dux: imperator (a Roman general who has been saluted imperator by his troops after a victory): praetor (used by Nep. in the sense of general, of Greek commanders, etc.): great captains, qui maximas res in bello gesserunt; qui bellica laude floruerunt; imperatores sommi.
Centurio (not ordinum ductor): of a ship, navarchus (ναύαρχος), navis praefectus: of free-booters, latronum or praedonum dux: of pirates, archipirata: a captain of the guard, praetoriae cohortis praefectus.
Quick answer
- What is the Latin word for captain?
- The usual Latin words for “captain” are dux, imperō, praetor; also centuriō, na͡uarchus, latrō. The right choice depends on the sense; see the distinctions below.
Entry from J. E. Riddle & T. K. Arnold, A Copious and Critical English–Latin Lexicon (rev. C. Anthon, New York: Harper, 1864), digitised by Fergus J. P. Walsh, CC BY-SA 4.0; Latin markup adapted by latindictionary.co.