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capitellum

Etymology and origin of the Latin word capitellum

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Confidence
Established
Formation
Derivation
First attested
Varro
Ultimate origin
Latin (caput)
Etymology tree
inherited borrowed derived
Latin capitellum
English cadet

Forms

capitellum n (genitive capitellī); second declension[1]

Etymology

It is a diminutive of caput “head”, with the suffix -ellum.[2][3][1][4]

Earliest recorded meaning

Köbler's first source is Varro, who discusses diminutives of caput.[5][3] Lewis and Short think it was perhaps first post-classical and not used in Varro's time, since manuscripts of Pliny the Elder vary between it and capitulum.[2]

Semantic evolution

It meant a small head or end, as in Vegetius' veterinary work, and the capital of a column, as in Isidore of Seville.[3][2]

In Medieval Latin it was the capital of a column, the head of a nail, a few verses of a psalm, a chapter hall and a castle.[6][7] In Ecclesiastical Latin it was also a short lesson.[8] It survives in Italian capitello and French chapiteau.[1] Gascon capdet “chief”, from Medieval Latin capitellum “little head”, gave French cadet, whence English cadet about 1610; and Spanish caudillo, borrowed into English in 1852, also comes from it.[4]

Timeline

  • 116–27 BC – Varro discusses it.[5][3]
  • c. 400 AD – Vegetius uses it of a small head.[3][5]
  • c. 560–636 AD – Isidore of Seville uses it of a column capital.[3][5]
  • c. 1610 – English cadet is recorded.[4]

Meanings

Noun

  1. A small head, end.[2][3]
  2. The capital of a column.[3][6]
  3. (Medieval Latin) The head of a nail; a chapter hall; a castle.[6]

References

  1. ^ a b c Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d Lewis, Charlton T.; Short, Charles (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h Gaffiot, Félix (2016), Dictionnaire latin-français, new ed. by Gérard Gréco et al. (Gaffiot 2016), online ed.
  4. ^ a b c Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  5. ^ a b c d Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
  6. ^ a b c Niermeyer, J. F. (1976), Mediae Latinitatis Lexicon Minus, Leiden: Brill
  7. ^ Latham, R. E., D. R. Howlett, R. K. Ashdowne, et al. (1975–2013), Dictionary of Medieval Latin from British Sources, London: British Academy / Oxford University Press
  8. ^ Stelten, Leo F. (1995), Dictionary of Ecclesiastical Latin, Peabody, Mass.: Hendrickson

Descendants

Cite this entry

“Capitellum.” Etymologically, 16 Oct. 2026, etymologically.com/la/capitellum. Accessed 16 Oct. 2026.

Last edited on . ·