cap English · revision 4687

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=borrowing|attested=c. 1000|origins=la-lat cappa}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: /kæp/^(Roach et al. 2011)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[inh|enm|cappe]], [[inh|ang|cæppe|t=hood, head-covering, cape]],^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988) an early borrowing, shared with other Germanic languages (Old Frisian and Middle Dutch kappe, Old High German chappa),^(Etymonline) from [[la-lat|cappa|t=cape, hooded cloak, head covering]],^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988)^(MWU 2024) a word of uncertain origin, perhaps from Latin caput “head”.^(Barnhart 1988)^(Hoad 1986)^(MWU 2024) It is a doublet of [[cape]] “cloak”,^(Barnhart 1988) and related to [[chapel]], [[chaperone]] and [[chapeau]].^(Cresswell 2021)^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ A hood or covering for the head: about 1000 in the OED and Barnhart, in Ælfric's Glossary.^(OED 1989)^(Barnhart 1988) The Late Latin word apparently first meant a woman's head-covering, then the hood of a cloak and the cloak itself.^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ A soft, close-fitting head covering is from the early 13th century, originally for women, while men's caps date from the late 14th century.^(Etymonline)^(OED 1989) Cap-like coverings on the ends of things, as in ''hubcap'', are from the mid-15th century.^(Etymonline) A cardinal's biretta is from 1591, and the ''cap and gown'' of a scholar from 1732.^(OED 1989)^(Etymonline) A fool's ''cap and bells'' is from 1781,^(Etymonline) and the dunce's cap gave ''if the cap fits, wear it'' by the early 19th century.^(Cresswell 2021) The percussion cap of a firearm is by 1825, hence the toy ''cap gun'' (1855).^(Etymonline) In British sport a cap, given to a player chosen for a national team, is from 1879.^(OED 1989)^(Collins 2023) The ''thinking cap'' is from 1839,^(Etymonline) and a contraceptive cap by 1916.^(Etymonline) The verb, to put a cap on, is from about 1400,^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline) to cover as with a cap from about 1600,^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988) to bring to a climax from the 1580s,^(Etymonline) and to outdo from 1821.^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline) To set an upper limit on, as spending, is a later sense.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * c. 1000 – a hood.^(OED 1989)^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * early 13th century – a close-fitting head covering.^(Etymonline)

+ * c. 1400 – verb, to put a cap on.^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline)

+ * mid-15th century – a cover for the end of something.^(Etymonline)

+ * 1580s – to complete, crown.^(Etymonline)

+ * 1732 – ''cap and gown''.^(Etymonline)

+ * 1821 – to outdo.^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline)

+ * 1825 – a percussion cap.^(Etymonline)

+ * 1879 – a sporting cap.^(OED 1989)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Noun===

+ # A soft, flat hat, often with a [[peak]], or a close-fitting head covering.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # A head covering showing rank or membership: ''a nurse's cap''.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # A cover or [[lid]] for the end or top of something: ''a bottle cap''.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # An upper limit on spending or prices.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # ''(chiefly British)'' A place in a national sports team, or a player who has won one.^(Collins 2023)

+ # A small explosive used in a toy gun.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # An artificial cover for a tooth.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+

+ ===Verb===

+ # To put a cap or cover on.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # To set an upper limit on.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # To end something in a way that is better or worse than what came before; to outdo.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # ''(chiefly British)'' To choose a player for a national team.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[capless]]

+ * [[capful]]

+ * [[decap]]

+ * [[hubcap]]

+ * [[caplet]]

+ * [[mudcap]]

+ * [[blackcap]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[cape]]

+ * [[chapel]]

+ * [[chaperone]]

+ * [[chapeau]]

+ * [[capital]]

+

+ ==Usage notes==

+ Cap is also short for capital letter, and in drug slang for capsule.^(AHD)^(MWU 2024)^(Collins 2023) A Scots cap, a wooden bowl, is from Middle English cop “cup”.^(MWU 2024)^(Wright 1898)

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}