Etymologically
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capillus

Etymology and origin of the Latin word capillus

History

Pronunciation

  • IPA (Classical): [kaˈpɪl.lʊs][1]
  • IPA (Ecclesiastical): [kaˈpil.lus][1]

Forms

capillus m (genitive capillī); second declension[1]

Etymology

The origin is uncertain.[2][3] It is often derived from caput “head” as a diminutive, as by Lewis and Short and Köbler,[4][5] but de Vaan finds this difficult: *kaput-(s)lo- should give *capullus, and a diminutive “little head” hardly means “hair”.[2] Phonologically one would expect a stem *kap-n- or *kap-r-, for which there is no good candidate.[2] Wiktionary mentions a possible comparison with a Persian word for the hair of the head.[1]

Earliest recorded meaning

It is found from Plautus onwards,[2][5] who praises a woman as charming “from her toenail to the top of her hair”.[3]

Semantic evolution

The word meant the hair of the head, used collectively in the singular, and Varro says the plural was not used in his time, but it occurs once in Cicero and often in the Augustan poets.[3][4] Unlike crinis, which could mean any hair, it referred properly to the hair of the head and beard.[4][6] It also meant a single hair, the hair or fur of animals, and the fine fibres or roots of plants.[3]

The plant name capillus Veneris was maidenhair fern.[7] Its descendants include French cheveu,[1] and the derivative capillaris gave English capillary.[8]

Timeline

  • c. 250–184 BC – Plautus uses it for the hair of the head.[3][5]
  • 81–43 BC – Cicero writes of carefully arranged hair.[3][5]
  • 81/79–52/50 BC – Catullus speaks of something softer than a rabbit's fur.[3][5]
  • 23/24–79 AD – Pliny the Elder uses it for hair-like fibres of plants.[3][5]

Meanings

Noun

  1. The hair of the head, (plural) one's hair.[3][4]
  2. A single hair.[3]
  3. The hair, fur or wool of animals.[3]
  4. Hair-like fibres or roots of plants.[3]

Word family

  • ātricapillus
  • capillāceus
  • capillāgō
  • capillāmentum
  • capillāris
  • capillātus
  • capillitium
  • capillōsus
  • crīnis
  • English capillary
  • English dishevelled

References

  1. ^ a b c d e Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d de Vaan, Michiel (2008), Etymological Dictionary of Latin and the other Italic Languages, Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series 7, Leiden; Boston: Brill
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
  4. ^ a b c d Lewis, Charlton T.; Short, Charles (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
  5. ^ a b c d e f Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
  6. ^ Georges, Karl Ernst (1913–1918), Ausführliches lateinisch-deutsches Handwörterbuch, 8th ed., ed. Heinrich Georges, Hannover; Leipzig: Hahn
  7. ^ Gaffiot, Félix (2016), Dictionnaire latin-français, new ed. by Gérard Gréco et al. (Gaffiot 2016), online ed.
  8. ^ Harper, Douglas, Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
Cite this entry

“Capillus.” Etymologically, 10 Oct. 2026, etymologically.com/la/capillus. Accessed 10 Oct. 2026.

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