Skip to main content
Glite Dictionary
🧑‍🎓 A surname 👑 A chief ⚓ A ship captain
rais

rais

9.9
A person who commands a ship and its crew, often in Mediterranean history
  • noun
  • Archaic
translation icon : rais
  • In Ottoman times, the rais was responsible for the safety of the entire crew.

Examples

  • The rais gave orders to the sailors as they prepared to leave the harbor.

  • Stories of the famous rais spread across the Mediterranean ports.

  • The rais commanded his crew with authority.

  • Captain Ali is a rais of great skill.

  • The rais gave orders to the sailors as they prepared to leave the harbor.

  • In Ottoman times, the rais was responsible for the safety of the entire crew.

  • The rais commanded his crew with authority.

Synonyms

skipper
vsrais
122 4.1

A person in charge of a ship or boat

is a formal historical leader of vessels in Mediterranean regions
sea captain
vsrais
6 3.2

A licensed officer who commands a merchant ship at sea

is a historical regional leader rather than a modern licensed officer
reis
vsrais
  • Archaic
9.9

A historical title for a ship captain or leader in the Ottoman navy

is a broader historical leader across Mediterranean and North African areas
shipman
vsrais
  • Archaic
9.9

Person who is in charge of a ship, like a captain

is a regional historical leader term used in Ottoman and nearby areas

Surface Forms

rais singular
raisin plural

Etymology

Rais comes from the Arabic ra'īs, meaning 'head' or 'leader', and sailors used it for the head of a ship—much like the ship's 'captain'. So, a rais is the person in charge of a vessel and its crew.