English

subcaptain

From sub- + captain.

Proto-Indo-European *upó ‘up; from below’

Proto-Italic *supo ‘under’

Latin sub ‘under, beneath, below’

English sub-

Proto-Indo-European *kap-

Latin caput ‘head’

Late Latin capitāneus ‘large’

Old French capitaine

Middle English capitain ‘the head of a military force’

Today it means

noun A subordinate captain.

Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.

Etymograph / subcaptain