post-captain

English

Alternative forms

• post captain, postcaptain

Etymology

From both the action of taking or making post (“occupying an established military position”) and the practice of posting (“publicly announcing”) the names of such officers in the London Gazette.

Noun

post-captain (plural post-captains)

1. (UK military, informal, obsolete) A captain of the 18th or 19th-century Royal Navy in command of a vessel, with his subsequent promotions almost always determined by seniority rather than merit or ability.
   • 1836 March 17, 'Candor', "The Navy", Army and Navy Chronicle, Vol. II, No. 11, p. 173:

     The general principle which governs the navies of the old world is... when the Post is attained, then promotion is by inheritance... If a Post Captain in the English navy lives long enough, he is certain of being an Admiral, though not before he is sixty years of age... Hence it is manifest that the public interest no more requires the new grade of Admiral to be added to the navy, than it does the bestowing of orders of nobility on all the diplomatic agents, who represent the United States at the different courts of Europe.

Usage notes

Post-captain was not a formal rank within the Royal Navy and, unlike many derivatives of captain, was never used as a personal title.

Coordinate terms

• on the bench (captain awaiting command)

References

• “post-captain”, in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.: G. & C. Merriam, 1913, →OCLC.