captain general en · NOUN
Etymology
Calque of Middle French capitaine général.
Meanings
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(historical) A commander-in-chief; the head of an armed force.
“[A] man, without interest or pretension, may present a petition to the captain-general of his majesty's forces, demanding a commission for the first company that shall become vacant, and be as likely to meet with success, as an unsupported author that offers a performance to the stage.”
1751, [Tobias] Smollett, The Adventures of Peregrine Pickle […], volume (please specify |volume=I to IV), London: Harrison and Co., […], →OCLC:He was taken to an assembly by the Governor of Cordoba, given dinner by the Captain General of Spain, who arranged transport for him to Cadiz, and was given nine letters alone for Naples by a leading Spanish courtier.
1992, Jeremy Black, The British Abroad: The Grand Tour in the Eighteenth Century, History Press, published 2020, page 236:And his humanitie or gentlenes[…]was the cause he was deposed of his office of Captaine Generall.
1603, Michel de Montaigne, chapter 36, in John Florio, transl., The Essayes […], book II, London: […] Val[entine] Simmes for Edward Blount […], →OCLC:
Forms
| Spelling | Features | Labels | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| captain generals | Number=Plur | lexicographic | |
| captains general | Number=Plur | lexicographic |