Hauptmann

German

Etymology

From Middle High German houbetman (“leader; captain, head of a group”), from Old High German houbitman, from Proto-West Germanic *haubidamann. Cognate with Low German Hööftmann, Dutch hoofdman, and Old English hēafodmann. Equivalent to haupt- (“chief, head”) +‎ Mann (“man”). Doublet of Hetman (via Polish hetman).

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /ˈhaʊp(t)ˌman/
Audio: (file)
Hyphenation: Haupt‧mann

Noun

Hauptmann m (strong, genitive Hauptmannes or Hauptmanns, plural Hauptleute or Hauptmänner, feminine Hauptfrau or Hauptmännin)

(military) captain (male [also female] or of unspecified sex; cf. Herr / Frau Hauptmann)

Usage notes

The normal plural is Hauptleute, while the plural Hauptmänner is rarely used, at least in contemporary military terminology.

Declension

Declension of Hauptmann [masculine, strong]

	singular			plural
	indef.	def.	noun	def.	noun
nominative	ein	der	Hauptmann	die	Hauptleute, Hauptmänner
genitive	eines	des	Hauptmannes, Hauptmanns	der	Hauptleute, Hauptmänner
dative	einem	dem	Hauptmann, Hauptmanne¹	den	Hauptleuten, Hauptmännern
accusative	einen	den	Hauptmann	die	Hauptleute, Hauptmänner

¹Now rare, see notes.

Derived terms

Amtshauptmann
Bezirkshauptmann
Deichhauptmann
Feuerwehrhauptmann
Hauptmännin
Landeshauptmann
Oberstschlosshauptmann
Räuberhauptmann
Römerhauptmann
Stabshauptmann
Stadthauptmann

Descendants

→ Dutch: hopman
→ Lower Sorbian: hawptman
→ Pennsylvania German: Hauptman, Haaptman
→ Czech: hejtman
→ Polish: hetman
- → Belarusian: ге́тман (hjétman)
- → Bulgarian: хе́тман (hétman)
- → English: hetman
- → French: hetman
- → German: Hetman
- → Portuguese: hétmã, hétmane
- → Romanian: hatman
- → Ukrainian: ге́тьман (hétʹman)
- → Russian: ге́тман (gétman)
  - → Uzbek: getman
- → Spanish: hetman

Further reading

“Hauptmann” in Digitales Wörterbuch der deutschen Sprache
“Hauptmann” in Duden online
“Proper noun” in Duden online