Definitions and meaning of cap
cap
Translingual
Symbol
cap
- (international standards) ISO 639-3 language code for Chipaya.
See also
-
- Wiktionary’s coverage of Chipaya terms
English
Alternative forms
- (a lie or exaggeration): 🧢
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /kæp/, [kʰæp]
-
-
- Hyphenation: cap
- Rhymes: -æp
Etymology 1
Inherited from Middle English cappe, from Old English cæppe, from Proto-West Germanic *kappā (“covering, hood, mantle”), from Late Latin cappa, itself from Latin caput. Doublet of cape, chape, and cope.
Noun
cap (plural caps)
- A close-fitting hat, either brimless or peaked.
- Hyponyms: see Thesaurus:headwear
- A special hat to indicate rank, occupation, etc.
- An academic mortarboard.
- A protective cover or seal.
- A crown for covering a tooth.
- The summit of a mountain, etc.
- An artificial upper limit or ceiling.
- Antonym: floor
- The top part of a mushroom.
- (toy) A small amount of percussive explosive in a paper strip or plastic cup for use in a toy gun.
- A small explosive device used to detonate a larger charge of explosives.
- (slang) A bullet used to shoot someone.
- (slang, originally African-American Vernacular) A lie or exaggeration.
- (sports) A place on a national team; an international appearance.
- (obsolete) The top, or uppermost part; the chief.
- (obsolete) A respectful uncovering of the head.
- (zoology) The whole top of the head of a bird from the base of the bill to the nape of the neck.
- (architecture) The uppermost of any assemblage of parts.
- Something covering the top or end of a thing for protection or ornament.
- (nautical) A collar of iron or wood used in joining spars, as the mast and the topmast, the bowsprit and the jib boom; also, a covering of tarred canvas at the end of a rope.
- (geometry) A portion of a spherical or other convex surface.
- A large size of writing paper.
- (Appalachia) Popcorn.
Derived terms
Translations
See also
Verb
cap (third-person singular simple present caps, present participle capping, simple past and past participle capped)
- (transitive) To cover or seal with a cap.
- (transitive) To award a cap as a mark of distinction.
- (transitive) To lie over or on top of something.
- (transitive) To surpass or outdo.
- (transitive) To set (or reach) an upper limit on something.
- (transitive) To make something even more wonderful at the end.
- (transitive, cricket) To select a player to play for a specified side.
- (transitive, slang) To shoot (someone) with a firearm.
- Synonym: pop a cap into
- (intransitive, slang, originally African-American Vernacular) To lie; to tell a lie.
- (transitive, sports) To select to play for the national team.
- (transitive, obsolete) To salute by uncovering the head respectfully.
- To deprive of a cap.
Derived terms
Translations
Etymology 2
Various clippings.
Noun
cap (plural caps)
- (finance) Capitalization.
- (informal) A capital letter.
- (electronics) A capacitor.
- (colloquial) A recording or screenshot.(shortening of "capture").
- (slang) A capsule of a drug.
- (colloquial) A capitalist.
- (anatomy) A capillary.
- A caption.
Derived terms
- (capitalization): cap table, large cap, market cap, mega cap, megacap, microcap, midcap, small-cap
- (capital letter): capline, drop cap
- (recording or screenshot): mo-cap
- (capsule): cap up, caplet
- (capitalist): an-cap, anticap
- (capillary): cap refill
- (caption): endcap
Translations
Verb
cap (third-person singular simple present caps, present participle capping, simple past and past participle capped)
- (transitive, informal) To convert text to uppercase.
- (transitive) To take a screenshot or to record a copy of a video.
- (transitive, video games) To capture an objective, such as a flag or checkpoint.
- (transitive, intransitive, video games) To capitulate (cause to capitulate) an opponent.
Derived terms
- (capitalise): intercapped
- (take a screenshot or record a video): mo-cap
Etymology 3
From Scots cap, an alteration of earlier cop, from Middle English cop, from Old English copp (“a cup, vessel”), from Proto-West Germanic *kopp, from Proto-Germanic *kuppaz.
Noun
cap (plural caps)
- (obsolete) A wooden drinking-bowl with two handles.
Derived terms
Anagrams
- PAC, CPA, PCA, Pac, ACP, pac, APC, Pac., PAc
Albanian
Etymology
A variant of cjap (“billy goat”), in southern and western Tosk dialect.
Pronunciation
Noun
cap m (plural cepë, definite capi, definite plural ceptë)
- (regional) he-goat, billy goat
Declension
Derived terms
References
Aromanian
Etymology
From Vulgar Latin capus, from Latin caput. Plural form capiti from Latin capita. Compare Romanian cap.
Noun
cap n (plural capiti/capite)
- head
Derived terms
Related terms
See also
Catalan
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): (Central, Balearic, Valencia) [ˈkap]
- Rhymes: -ap
Etymology 1
Inherited from Vulgar Latin capus (“head, chief”), from Latin caput (“head, etc.”), from Proto-Italic *kaput, ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *kauput-, *káput. Compare Occitan cap. Compare also French personne (which can mean either "person" or "nobody").
Noun
cap m (plural caps)
- (anatomy) head
- boss, chief, leader
- cap d'estat ― head of state
- (geography) cape (piece of land)
- (heraldry) chief
- end
- cap de setmana ― weekend
Derived terms
Determiner
cap (invariable)
- no, not any (usually with no or other negative particle)
- any (in questions and suppositions)
Pronoun
cap
- none, not one (usually with no or other negative particle)
- anyone (in questions and suppositions)
- que en falta cap? ― is there anyone missing?
Preposition
cap
- towards, to
Derived terms
- cap a
- capdamunt
- capdavall
- capdavant
Related terms
Etymology 2
See the etymology of the corresponding lemma form.
Verb
cap
- inflection of cabre:
- third-person singular present indicative
- second-person singular imperative
Further reading
- “cap”, in Diccionari de la llengua catalana [Dictionary of the Catalan Language] (in Catalan), second edition, Institute of Catalan Studies [Catalan: Institut d'Estudis Catalans], 2007 April
- “cap”, in Gran Diccionari de la Llengua Catalana, Grup Enciclopèdia Catalana, 2025.
- “cap” in Diccionari normatiu valencià, Acadèmia Valenciana de la Llengua.
- “cap” in Diccionari català-valencià-balear, Antoni Maria Alcover and Francesc de Borja Moll, 1962.
Chinese
Etymology 1
From English cap.
Pronunciation
Noun
cap (Hong Kong Cantonese)
- used in cap帽 (“cap; hat”)
- upper limit; upper bound
Etymology 2
Clipping of English capture.
Pronunciation
Verb
cap (Hong Kong Cantonese)
- to screenshot or record
- cap低 [Cantonese] ― kep1 dai1 [Jyutping] ― to save a screenshot
- to obtain or accumulate money
Derived terms
Etymology 3
Clipping of English capacitor.
Pronunciation
Noun
cap (Hong Kong Cantonese)
- capacitor (Classifier: 粒 c)
Derived terms
See also
French
Etymology
Borrowed from Occitan cap, from Latin caput. Doublet of chef.
Pronunciation
Noun
cap m (plural caps)
- (geography) cape
- (archaic) head
- (nautical) heading
- (figuratively) goal, direction, course
- Synonym: cible
- cap stratégique ― strategic course
- (Quebec, geography) cap (summit of a mountain)
Derived terms
- cap glacé
- de pied en cap
- mettre le cap
Further reading
- “cap”, in Trésor de la langue française informatisé [Digitized Treasury of the French Language], 2012.
Anagrams
Indonesian
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): [ˈt͡ʃap]
- Hyphenation: cap
Etymology 1
- Ultimately from Indo-Aryan. Compare Hindi छाप (chāp), Gujarati છાપ (chāp), Bengali ছাপ (chap), English chop all meaning stamp, seal.
- Probably become Chinese 劄 (zhá, “letter, brief note”) through phono-semantic matching.
Noun
cap (plural cap-cap)
- seal, stamp
- Synonyms: stempel, tera
- record
- Synonym: rekaman
- printing
- Synonyms: cetak, cetakan
- trademark
- Synonyms: merk dagang, etiket
- (figurative) characteristic
- Synonyms: ciri, sifat
Alternative forms
- cop: nonstandard Indonesian, standard Malay
- tjap (1901–1947)
Derived terms
Related terms
Etymology 2
Onomatopoeic.
Noun
cap (plural cap-cap)
- sound of tongue smacking
- Synonym: kecap
Further reading
- “cap” in Kamus Besar Bahasa Indonesia, Jakarta: Agency for Language Development and Cultivation – Ministry of Education, Culture, Research, and Technology of the Republic of Indonesia, 2016.
Javanese
Noun
cap
- seal, stamp
Malay
Etymology
From English chop (“An official stamp or seal, as in China and India”), from Indo-Aryan, either Hindi छाप (chāp), Gujarati છાપ (chāp), Bengali ছাপ (chap) all meaning stamp, seal. Doublet of cop.
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): [ˈt͡ʃap]
- Rhymes: -ap
Noun
cap
- seal; stamp
- brand
Derived terms
Megleno-Romanian
Alternative forms
Etymology
From Vulgar Latin capus, from Latin caput. Compare Romanian cap.
Noun
cap n (plural capiti)
- head
References
- Atasanov, Petar (1990) Le mégléno-roumain de nos jours: Une approche linguistique, Hamburg: Buske
Middle English
Noun
cap
- alternative form of cappe
Middle French
Etymology
Borrowed from Old Occitan cap.
Noun
cap m (plural caps)
- head
- 1369-1400, Jean Froissart, Chroniques
Descendants
- French: cap
- → English: cape
Occitan
Etymology
From Old Occitan cap, from Vulgar Latin capus, from Latin caput.
Pronunciation
Noun
cap m (plural caps)
- head (the part of the body of an animal or human which contains the brain, mouth and main sense organs)
- leader, chief, mastermind
- cape, headland
Derived terms
Related terms
Polish
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /ˈt͡sap/
-
- Rhymes: -ap
- Syllabification: cap
Etymology 1
Borrowed from Romanian țap, possibly from Albanian cjap.
Noun
cap m animal
- billy-goat
- buck (male of an antlered animal)
- (colloquial, derogatory) lecherous man
- (colloquial) bearded man
Declension
Derived terms
Etymology 2
Onomatopoeic.
Interjection
cap
- sound of a violent grabbing of someone or something
- Synonym: łap
Etymology 3
See the etymology of the corresponding lemma form.
Verb
cap
- second-person singular imperative of capić
Further reading
- cap in Wielki słownik języka polskiego, Instytut Języka Polskiego PAN
- cap in Polish dictionaries at PWN
Romanian
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /ˈkap/
- Rhymes: -àp
Etymology 1
Inherited from Vulgar Latin capus, from Latin caput, from Proto-Italic *kaput, ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *kauput-, *káput. Plural form capete from Latin capita. Compare the doublet șef, borrowed from French.
Noun
cap n (plural capete)
- head
Declension
Derived terms
- căpetenie
- căpos
- căpușă
- în ruptul capului
Related terms
Etymology 2
Borrowed from French cap.
Noun
cap n (plural capuri)
- cape (headland)
Declension
Scots
Etymology 1
Inherited from Middle English cappe (“cap, hat”).
Noun
cap (plural caps)
- cap, hat [from 15th century]
Verb
cap (third-person singular simple present caps, present participle capping, simple past capped, past participle capped)
- confer a university degree by touching the graduate's head with a ceremonial cap [from 19th century]
Etymology 2
Inherited from Middle English coppe (“cup”). Attested from Older Scots (a. 1700).
Noun
cap (plural caps)
- a bowl for food or drink; a cup
- a wooden bowl used to measure grain, potatoes etc.
- small beer, table beer, cappie ale
- any of various bowl-shaped receptacles
Verb
cap (third-person singular simple present caps, present participle capin, simple past capt, past participle capt)
- share a bowl of drink or food
Etymology 3
From Old French caper (“to seize”). Attested from at least the 19th century. Compare older kep (“keep; catch”).
Verb
cap (third-person singular simple present caps, present participle capin, simple past capt, past participle capt)
- seize (a thing), take by force
- arrest, stop the progress (of a person or thing)
- catch (a falling object)
Slovak
Etymology
Inherited from Proto-Slavic *capъ.
Pronunciation
Noun
cap m animal (female equivalent koza, relational adjective capí, diminutive capko, augmentative capisko)
- a male goat, he-goat, billygoat
Declension
References
Further reading
- “cap”, in Slovníkový portál Jazykovedného ústavu Ľ. Štúra SAV [Dictionary portal of the Ľ. Štúr Institute of Linguistics, Slovak Academy of Science] (in Slovak), https://slovnik.juls.savba.sk, 2003–2025
Tyap
Pronunciation
Noun
cap
- fur
Vietnamese
Etymology
(This etymology is missing or incomplete. Please add to it, or discuss it at the Etymology scriptorium.)
Pronunciation
- (Hà Nội) IPA(key): [kaːp̚˧˦]
- (Huế) IPA(key): [kaːp̚˦˧˥]
- (Saigon) IPA(key): [kaːp̚˦˥]
- Phonetic spelling: cáp
Noun
cap
- (slang, Internet) abbreviation of caption
Welsh
Noun
cap m (plural capau or capiau)
- cap
Derived terms
- cap ffibr (“fibrecap”)
- cap iâ (“ice cap”)
- cap nos (“nightcap”)
- cap tebot (“tea cosy”)
Mutation
Further reading
- D. G. Lewis, N. Lewis, editors (2005–present), “cap”, in Gweiadur: the Welsh–English Dictionary, Gwerin
- R. J. Thomas, G. A. Bevan, P. J. Donovan, A. Hawke et al., editors (1950–present), “cap”, in Geiriadur Prifysgol Cymru Online (in Welsh), University of Wales Centre for Advanced Welsh & Celtic Studies
Source: wiktionary.org