capture English · revision 5302

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=borrowing|attested=1541|origins=la capere}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: UK /ˈkæp.tʃə/, US /ˈkæp.tʃɚ/^(Roach et al. 2011)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[bor|frm|capture|t=a taking]],^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988)^(SOED 2002) from [[la|captūra|t=a taking, especially of animals]], from captus, the past participle of [[m|la|capere|t=to take, seize]],^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988) from [[ine-pro|*kap-|t=to grasp]].^(Etymonline) It is related to [[captive]] and [[captor]].^(Barnhart 1988)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ The act of seizing or taking: 1541–42, in a record of criminal trials.^(Barnhart 1988)^(OED 1989)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ The prize or prey taken is from 1706.^(OED 1989) The verb, to take by force, is from 1779 in Etymonline and 1795 in Southey's Joan of Arc according to Barnhart and the OED;^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988)^(OED 1989) the earlier verb in this sense was captive.^(Etymonline) In chess and draughts the capture of a piece is from 1819 as a verb and 1835 as a noun.^(Etymonline)^(OED 1989) River capture in geography is from 1898, the capture of an object by a star or planet's gravity from 1910, and of a particle in physics from 1923.^(OED 1989) Data capture is from 1971.^(OED 1989)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * 1541–42 – the act of seizing.^(OED 1989)^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * 1779 – verb, to seize.^(Etymonline)

+ * 1819 – in chess.^(Etymonline)

+ * 1898 – river capture.^(OED 1989)

+ * 1923 – in physics.^(OED 1989)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Verb===

+ # To take someone [[prisoner]] or take something by force.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # To gain control of something, as in a game: ''capture a pawn''.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # To succeed in showing or recording something: ''the painting captures her likeness''.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # To attract and hold: ''capture one's attention''.^(AHD)

+

+ ===Noun===

+ # The act of capturing or the state of being captured.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # A person or thing captured; a [[prize]].^(AHD)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[capturable]]

+ * [[capturer]]

+ * [[recapture]]

+ * [[precapture]]

+ * [[capture the flag]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[captivate]]

+ * [[captive]]

+ * [[captivity]]

+ * [[caption]]

+ * [[captor]]

+ * [[capable]]

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}