post-captain
Word Rarity
Uncommon
Frequency: Zipf frequency 4.78 in modern English
17
Scrabble Score
11
Letters
4
Syllables
8
Unique Chars
Meaning
noun
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.
British usage; Informal; Obsolete
Example Sentences
- "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."
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.