Skipper
/ˈskɪp.ər/noun
A person who commands a boat or ship; also, the head of a team or group.
Did you know?The nautical sense of skipper comes from Dutch schipper, and the word ultimately traces back to the same ancient root as English ship — so the “captain” was originally just the ship-man.
Etymological Timeline
Proto-Indo-European
PIE
*skei-
“to cut, split”
Proto-Germanic
PGmc
*skipą
“ship, vessel”
Old English
OE
scip
“ship”
Middle Dutch
Dutch
schipper
“shipmaster, skipper”
Middle English
English
skipper
“shipmaster; later, leader or boss”