DictionaryRoot: capere
Latin

capere

take, hold, seize

Forms

  • cap-
  • capt- — Latin stem of the form meaning ‘taken.’
  • -cip- — Latin stem used in compounds.
  • -cept- — Stem of the form meaning ‘taken’ in Latin compounds.
  • -ceive — Developed through French in verbs borrowed into English.

Origin

Reconstructed Proto-Indo-European *kap-, ‘grasp.’

Note

Taking something into the mind was already a Latin metaphor.

43 / 49
A Black young adult princess in elegant royal dress and small crown stands in palace courtyard, realistic not fairy-tale cartoon.
noun

princess

PRIN-sess/ˈprɪnses/

A woman or girl belonging to a royal family.

Etymology

The “first-taker” base originally denoted a chief or ruler. The feminine ending made a title for a woman of royal or noble birth, including a ruler’s daughter.

Full entry

Related word entries