English
capillaire
Capillaire comes from French capillaire ‘maidenhair’, from Latin capillāris ‘pertaining to hair’, and perhaps ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *kap- ‘head’.
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*kap-1‘head’uncertain
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*káput2‘head’uncertain
- Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*kaput2‘head’uncertain
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEcaput3‘head’uncertain
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEcapillus4‘a single hair’
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEcapillāris4‘pertaining to hair’
- Frenchc. 1600–presentcapillaire5‘maidenhair’
- Englishtodaycapillaire5
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor
- 1 Wiktionary, Proto-Indo-European *káput
- 2 Wiktionary, Latin caput
- 3 Wiktionary, Latin capillus
- 4 Wiktionary, French capillaire
- 5 Wiktionary, English capillaire
Lineage
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*kap-Wiktionary, Proto-Indo-European *káput‘head’uncertain
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*káputWiktionary, Latin caput‘head’uncertain
- Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*kaputWiktionary, Latin caput‘head’uncertain
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEcaputWiktionary, Latin capillus‘head’uncertain
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEcapillusWiktionary, French capillaire‘a single hair’
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEcapillārisWiktionary, French capillaire‘pertaining to hair’
- Frenchc. 1600–presentcapillaireWiktionary, English capillaire‘maidenhair’
- EnglishtodaycapillaireWiktionary, English capillaire
Linked words
through Proto-Indo-European *kap- ‘head’
had, case, except, heavy, accept, cash, behavior, receive, catch, achieve, chase, capacity, heavily, cable, capable, occupation, perception, haven, reception, recipe, behave, capture, hawk, anticipation, anticipate, susceptible, recipient, deception, chassis, caption, conceive, captive, capsule, deceive, cater, deceptive, captivity, cassette, deceit, conceivable, 133 more
through Proto-Indo-European *káput ‘head’
through Proto-Italic *kaput ‘head’
capitalism, capitalize, capote, escapade, capitan, capitaine, 60 more
through Latin caput ‘head’
capital, chapter, captain, escape, chef, cattle, cabin, cape, chapel, capitol, precipitation, mischief, capita, cad, mischievous, chaplain, chieftain, occipital, cabana, precipitate, chattel, caddie, capo, precipitous, chabot, jefe, capa, scamper, scamp, capuchin, capitulate, kaput, chaperon, cabochon, caput, 68 more
through Latin capillus ‘a single hair’
Today it means
noun A syrup prepared from the maidenhair, formerly supposed to have medicinal properties.
Sources
Sources: Wiktionary, “capillaire”; the older steps come from the Wiktionary entries for Proto-Indo-European *káput, Latin caput, Latin capillus, French capillaire. By Wiktionary contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0, via kaikki.org (dump of Oct 3 2026); text adapted and restructured. Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word. License.
Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *kap- / capillaire