Etymologically
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capillary

Etymology and origin of the English word capillary

History

Pronunciation

  • IPA: /kəˈpɪl.ə.ɹi/ (UK); /ˈkæpəˌlɛri/, /ˈkæpɪˌlɛɹi/ (US)[1]

Etymology

It is borrowed from French capillaire,[2][3][4] from Latin capillāris (“of hair”),[5][2][6][3][4] from capillus “hair (of the head)”,[5][2][6][3][4] perhaps related to caput “head”, though de Vaan finds this unconvincing, since capillus would then mean “little head”.[6] It replaced the earlier capillar (before 1400), borrowed directly from Latin.[2][6]

Earliest recorded meaning

Of or relating to hair (1656), and hair-like, very slender (1664).[7][2][6]

Semantic evolution

In anatomy the adjective described tubes of very minute, hair-like bore (1664),[7] and from 1667 the noun named the minute blood vessels in which the arterial circulation ends and the veins begin.[7][2][3] From 1809 it referred to the rise or fall of liquids in narrow tubes through surface tension, on the notion of “taking place in capillary vessels”,[6][7] hence capillary attraction (1813).[2][6]

Timeline

  • before 1400 – capillar, hair-like.[2]
  • 1656 – of or relating to hair.[7][2]
  • 1664 – having a hair-like bore.[7]
  • 1667 – noun, a minute blood vessel.[7][2][3]
  • 1813 – capillary attraction.[2][6]

Modern meaning

Noun

  1. Any of the minute blood vessels connecting the smallest arteries with the smallest veins, forming networks through which oxygen and other substances pass between blood and tissues.
  2. A tube with a very small internal diameter.

Adjective

  1. Resembling a hair; fine and slender.
  2. Having a very small internal diameter, as a capillary tube.
  3. Of or relating to capillaries, or to capillarity and surface tension.

Word family

  • intercapillary
  • noncapillary
  • capillarity
  • capillary bed
  • capillary action
  • dishevelled

References

  1. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Barnhart, Robert K., ed. (1995), The Barnhart Concise Dictionary of Etymology, New York: HarperCollins
  3. ^ a b c d e Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary (2003), 11th ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
  4. ^ a b c Hoad, T. F., ed. (1986), The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology, Oxford: Clarendon Press
  5. ^ a b The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (1992), 3rd ed., Boston: Houghton Mifflin
  6. ^ a b c d e f g h Harper, Douglas, Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  7. ^ a b c d e f g Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press

Related etymologies

Cite this entry

“Capillary.” Etymologically, 10 Oct. 2026, etymologically.com/en/capillary. Accessed 10 Oct. 2026.

Last edited on . ·