Etymograph

English

capitellum

Capitellum comes from Latin capitellum ‘diminutive of caput (“head”): small head’, and goes back to Proto-Indo-European *kap-.

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*kap-1reconstructed
  2. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*kauput-1reconstructed
  3. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEcaput1‘head’
  4. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEcapitellum1‘diminutive of caput (“head”): small head’diminuitive of caput
  5. Englishtodaycapitellum1

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, English capitellum

Lineage

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*kap-Wiktionary, English capitellumreconstructed
  2. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*kauput-Wiktionary, English capitellumreconstructed
  3. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEcaputWiktionary, English capitellum‘head’
  4. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEcapitellumWiktionary, English capitellum‘diminutive of caput (“head”): small head’diminuitive of caput
  5. EnglishtodaycapitellumWiktionary, English capitellum

Linked words

through Proto-Indo-European *kap-

had, head, case, except, heavy, accept, receive, cash, behavior, catch, achieve, heavily, chase, cable, capable, capacity, recipe, reception, occupation, perception, haven, capture, behave, hawk, recipient, anticipation, susceptible, deception, anticipate, chassis, caption, conceive, captive, capsule, deceive, deceptive, cater, conceivable, captivity, cassette, 139 more

through Latin caput ‘head’

captain, chapter, escape, chef, cattle, cabin, cape, chapel, capitalism, precipitation, mischief, chaplain, mischievous, chieftain, capitalize, cabana, caddie, precipitate, occipital, capo, precipitous, capillary, chabot, jefe, capa, scamper, chattel, scamp, capuchin, dishevelled, kaput, chaperon, cabochon, capitulate, caput, capitaine, 67 more

through Latin capitellum ‘diminutive of caput (“head”): small head’

cad, cadet, 3 more

Today it means

noun Synonym of capitulum.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “capitellum”. 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- / capitellum

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