Captain James Cook

1 5.8

An English sailor and explorer who mapped Australia's east coast and found Pacific islands

proper noun
/ˈkæptɪn dʒeɪmz kʊk/

: Capitán James Cook

Captain James Cook made three major voyages to the Pacific, expanding European knowledge of the region.

Examples

Many history books describe how Captain James Cook mapped the coast of Australia.
The museum features artifacts from Captain James Cook's famous expeditions.
The famous explorer Captain James Cook sailed across the Pacific Ocean.
Captain James Cook was born in 1728.
Captain James Cook is known for his detailed maps of the eastern coast of Australia.
In 1770, Captain James Cook claimed Australia for Britain after his exploration.
The legacy of Captain James Cook includes the discovery of several Pacific islands.

Synonyms

Captain Cook

vsCaptain James Cook

2 4.2

An English sailor who explored and mapped the east coast of Australia and many Pacific islands

is the full name including given name used in formal references

James Cook

vsCaptain James Cook

1 3.9

An English sailor and explorer who claimed Australia's east coast for Britain and mapped many Pacific islands

uses the full name including a title for formal reference

Surface Forms

Captain James Cook main

Morphology

captain + James + Cook

This is a title + personal name combination: knowing 'captain' and that 'James Cook' is a name lets a B1 learner infer this refers to a person who is a ship's captain (and thus a seafarer/explorer). Title + name constructions are cross-linguistically common, so while the learner may not know the historical details, the basic referent and role are transparently derivable from the constituents.

Etymology

Captain James Cook was a British sailor who sailed the Pacific three times; he mapped the east coast of Australia and claimed several islands for Britain, so his name is remembered as a famous 'explorer'.