Captained

Part of speech: verb

Definitions

1. Served as the captain who led a team or group during an activity or event
2. Acted in the role of a leader or commander of a sports team or organized group
3. Held the position of chief organizer and decision-maker for a team or unit in a competition or task

Etymology: This is an inflected form, so the essential history belongs to its base word, "captain." That base comes from Late Latin "capitāneus," formed from Latin "caput," meaning "head." The same head that gives us "cap" and "chief" sits at the root of a rank that places a single person at the front of others. "Captain" passed into Middle English as "capitain" or "capteyn" through Old French "capitaine," and it is a doublet of "chieftain," which came through Old French too, so the two words are cousins that took different routes into English. "Captained" is simply the past tense and past participle of "captain," used when someone led a group in that role.

Synonyms: led, commanded, directed, headed, supervised

Antonyms: followed, obeyed, subordinated, yielded, surrendered