While in contemporary German means 'main', it also has, and originally had, the meaning of 'head', i.e. '''' literally translates to 'head-man', which is also the etymological root of
captain (from
Latin , 'head'). This rank is equivalent to the rank of captain in the
British and
US Armies, and is rated
OF-2 in
NATO. : Currently, there is no female form within the German military (such as
Hauptfrau): the correct form of address is "
Frau Hauptmann." More generally, a Hauptmann can be the head of any hierarchically structured group of people, often as a compound word. For example, a is the captain of a fire brigade, while refers to the leader of a gang of robbers. Official Austrian and German titles incorporating the word include , , , and . In
Saxony during the
Weimar Republic, the titles of , and were held by senior civil servants. (from
Early Modern High German ) is cognate with the Swedish , which also has the root meaning 'head-man' or 'the man at the head', and is closely related to , meaning '
chieftain'. Since medieval times, both titles have been used for state administrators rather than military personnel. may also be the origin of the title
hetman, used in Central and Eastern Europe. ==Military ranks==