Etymologically
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cap

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Pronunciation

Etymology

It is inherited from Middle English cappe, inherited from Old English cæppe (“hood, head-covering, cape”),[2][3] an early borrowing, shared with other Germanic languages (Old Frisian and Middle Dutch kappe, Old High German chappa),[2] from Late Latin cappa (“cape, hooded cloak, head covering”),[2][3][4] a word of uncertain origin, perhaps from Latin caput “head”.[3][5][4] It is a doublet of cape “cloak”,[3] and related to chapel, chaperone and chapeau.[6][2]

Earliest recorded meaning

A hood or covering for the head: about 1000 in the OED and Barnhart, in Ælfric's Glossary.[7][3] The Late Latin word apparently first meant a woman's head-covering, then the hood of a cloak and the cloak itself.[2]

Semantic evolution

A soft, close-fitting head covering is from the early 13th century, originally for women, while men's caps date from the late 14th century.[2][7] Cap-like coverings on the ends of things, as in hubcap, are from the mid-15th century.[2] A cardinal's biretta is from 1591, and the cap and gown of a scholar from 1732.[7][2] A fool's cap and bells is from 1781,[2] and the dunce's cap gave if the cap fits, wear it by the early 19th century.[6] The percussion cap of a firearm is by 1825, hence the toy cap gun (1855).[2] In British sport a cap, given to a player chosen for a national team, is from 1879.[7][8] The thinking cap is from 1839,[2] and a contraceptive cap by 1916.[2] The verb, to put a cap on, is from about 1400,[3][2] to cover as with a cap from about 1600,[2][3] to bring to a climax from the 1580s,[2] and to outdo from 1821.[3][2] To set an upper limit on, as spending, is a later sense.[9][8]

Timeline

  • c. 1000 – a hood.[7][3]
  • early 13th century – a close-fitting head covering.[2]
  • c. 1400 – verb, to put a cap on.[3][2]
  • mid-15th century – a cover for the end of something.[2]
  • 1580s – to complete, crown.[2]
  • 1732 – cap and gown.[2]
  • 1821 – to outdo.[3][2]
  • 1825 – a percussion cap.[2]
  • 1879 – a sporting cap.[7]

Modern meaning

Noun

  1. A soft, flat hat, often with a peak, or a close-fitting head covering.
  2. A head covering showing rank or membership: a nurse's cap.
  3. A cover or lid for the end or top of something: a bottle cap.
  4. An upper limit on spending or prices.
  5. (chiefly British) A place in a national sports team, or a player who has won one.
  6. A small explosive used in a toy gun.
  7. An artificial cover for a tooth.

Verb

  1. To put a cap or cover on.
  2. To set an upper limit on.
  3. To end something in a way that is better or worse than what came before; to outdo.
  4. (chiefly British) To choose a player for a national team.

Word family

  • capless
  • capful
  • decap
  • hubcap
  • caplet
  • mudcap
  • blackcap

Usage notes

Cap is also short for capital letter, and in drug slang for capsule.[9][4][8] A Scots cap, a wooden bowl, is from Middle English cop “cup”.[4][10]

References

  1. ^ Jones, Daniel (2011), Cambridge English Pronouncing Dictionary, 18th ed., ed. Peter Roach, Jane Setter and John Esling, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Barnhart, Robert K. (1988), The Barnhart Dictionary of Etymology
  4. ^ a b c d Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
  5. ^ Hoad, T. F., ed. (1986), The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology, Oxford: Clarendon Press
  6. ^ a b Cresswell, Julia (2021), Oxford Dictionary of Word Origins, 3rd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
  7. ^ a b c d e f Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press
  8. ^ a b c Collins English Dictionary (2023), Glasgow: HarperCollins
  9. ^ a b The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (1992), 3rd ed., Boston: Houghton Mifflin
  10. ^ Wright, Joseph, ed. (1898–1905), The English Dialect Dictionary, 6 vols., Oxford: Henry Frowde; via EDD Online 4.0, University of Innsbruck (CC BY 4.0)