Etymology and origin of the Latin word captus
captus1 captured
- Confidence
- Established
- Formation
- Derivation
- First attested
- 81–43 BC, Cicero
- Ultimate origin
- Latin capiō
From the same root · captus1
Pronunciation
Forms
captus (feminine capta, neuter captum); first/second-declension participle[1]
Etymology
The adjective “captured” is from Latin capiō (“to take, seize”), its perfect passive participle, often used as a noun.[2][3] Wiktionary traces the participle itself to Proto-Italic *kaptos, from Proto-Indo-European *kaptós (“seized, held”).[1]
Earliest recorded meaning
Köbler's earliest source for the adjective is Cicero;[4] it means taken, captured, and as a noun a prisoner.[2][4]
Semantic evolution
As a noun, captus “a captive” is used by Virgil, Livy, Horace and Nepos:[5][6][7] Virgil's Trojans certantque inludere capto “and vie in mocking the captive” (Aeneid 2.64).[5][6] Wiktionary also gives the senses “understood” and “afflicted”.[1] In Medieval Latin it could mean a paralysed person.[4]
Timeline
- 81–43 BC – Cicero uses it as an adjective.[4]
- 70–19 BC – Virgil uses it as a noun, “captive”.[5][4]
- 982–983 – Walter of Speyer uses it of a paralysed person.[4]
Meanings
Adjective
Noun
captus2 capacity
- Confidence
- Established
- Formation
- Derivation
- First attested
- 190–159 BC, Terence
- Ultimate origin
- Latin capiō
From the same root · captus2
Pronunciation
Forms
captus m (genitive captūs); fourth declension[1]
Etymology
The noun “capacity” is from Latin capiō (“to take, seize”) + -tus, an action noun.[2][1]
Earliest recorded meaning
Terence has it in the phrase ut captus est servolorum “as far as slaves go”, of a slave who is neither bad nor idle: the measure of what someone can grasp or do.[2][5][4]
Semantic evolution
In Classical Latin it is mainly found in that phrase, ut est captus “as is the capacity (of)”: Cicero uses it of the Greeks and Caesar of the Germans, judged by their own standard.[2][8] Velleius, Seneca, Gellius and Apuleius use it more freely for capacity or size.[2][5] From the 1st century AD it also means the act of taking or grasping: Pliny the Elder measures ivy flowers by what three fingers take up, and the jurists speak of buying a catch of fish or birds.[2][8][9] Medieval Latin added senses such as talent, understanding and ability to pay.[4]
Timeline
- 190–159 BC – Terence uses it of the capacity of slaves.[2][4]
- c. 50 BC – Caesar uses it of the Germans' capacity.[2][4]
- 23/24–79 AD – Pliny the Elder uses it of what three fingers can grasp.[2][4]
Meanings
Noun
Related words
References
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
- ^ Gaffiot, Félix (2016), Dictionnaire latin-français, new ed. by Gérard Gréco et al. (Gaffiot 2016), online ed.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
- ^ a b c d e f Conte, Gian Biagio; Pianezzola, Emilio; Ranucci, Giuliano (2010), il Latino: Vocabolario della lingua latina, 3rd ed., Florence: Le Monnier
- ^ a b c Lewis, Charlton T. (1890), An Elementary Latin Dictionary, New York: American Book Company
- ^ Simpson, D. P. (1959), Cassell's New Latin Dictionary, London: Cassell
- ^ a b c d e Lewis, Charlton T.; Short, Charles (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
- ^ a b Georges, Karl Ernst (1913–1918), Ausführliches lateinisch-deutsches Handwörterbuch, 8th ed., ed. Heinrich Georges, Hannover; Leipzig: Hahn
Cite this entry
“Captus.” Etymologically, 23 Oct. 2026, etymologically.com/la/captus. Accessed 23 Oct. 2026.
Last edited on . ·