Etymologically
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capto

Etymology and origin of the Latin word capto

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Confidence
Established
Formation
Derivation
First attested
Plautus
Ultimate origin
Latin (capiō)

Pronunciation

  • IPA (Classical): [ˈkap.toː][1]
  • IPA (Ecclesiastical): [ˈkap.to][1]

Forms

captō (present infinitive captāre, perfect active captāvī, supine captātum); first conjugation[1]

Etymology

It is from capiō “to take” with the frequentative suffix -tō.[2][1][3] Wiktionary compares Ancient Greek κάπτω (káptō, “to gulp down”).[1] The TLL says it is found from Plautus but is lacking in Ennius, Cato, Lucretius, Caesar, Nepos and Tacitus.[3]

Earliest recorded meaning

The OLD's earliest citations are from Plautus, of grasping as in wrestling, listening and trying to capture.[2] Köbler dates Plautus c. 250–184 BC.[4]

Semantic evolution

It meant to try to take hold of, grasp at, as Horace's Tantalus catching at the fleeing waters, and Ovid.[2][5] In Virgil it meant to try to draw in air, and in Plautus to listen, try to hear.[2] From Varro it meant to make for a place, in Cicero to seek shade, to look for an opportunity, aim at, and in Horace to seek out.[2] From Plautus it meant to aspire to, try to capture, and to try to catch out in argument, and in Cicero to hunt or fish and to entice.[2] In Petronius it meant to court someone for a legacy, to hunt legacies.[2]

In Ecclesiastical Latin it meant to seek after, desire.[6] It survives in Romanian căuta and Italian cattare, and a Vulgar Latin *captiāre from it gave Old North French cachier and English catch about 1200.[1][7]

Timeline

  • c. 250–184 BC – Plautus uses it of grasping and listening.[2][4]
  • 81–43 BC – Cicero uses it of enticing.[2][4]
  • before 66 AD – Petronius uses it of legacy-hunting.[2][4]
  • c. 1200 – English catch is recorded.[7]

Meanings

Verb

  1. To grasp at, try to seize.[2]
  2. To try to draw in (air); to listen for.[2]
  3. To make for; to seek (shade).[2]
  4. To seek out; to watch for (an opportunity); to aim at.[2]
  5. To aspire to.[2]
  6. To try to capture; to hunt.[2]
  7. To try to catch out.[2]
  8. To entice; to court for a legacy.[2]

Word family

  • captābilis
  • captātiō
  • captātor
  • captitō
  • disceptō

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
  3. ^ a b Thesaurus linguae Latinae (1900–), Leipzig: Teubner; Berlin: De Gruyter; open-access ed., Munich: Bayerische Akademie der Wissenschaften
  4. ^ a b c d Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
  5. ^ Gaffiot, Félix (2016), Dictionnaire latin-français, new ed. by Gérard Gréco et al. (Gaffiot 2016), online ed.
  6. ^ Stelten, Leo F. (1995), Dictionary of Ecclesiastical Latin, Peabody, Mass.: Hendrickson
  7. ^ a b Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
Cite this entry

“Capto.” Etymologically, 16 Oct. 2026, etymologically.com/la/capto. Accessed 16 Oct. 2026.

Last edited on . ·