Etymograph

English

capitoul

Capitoul comes from French capitoul ‘a capitoul or capitol: the former chief…’, from Latin caput ‘head’, and ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *kap-.

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*kap-1‘head’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*káput2‘head’reconstructed
  3. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*kaput2‘head’reconstructed
  4. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEcaput3‘head’
  5. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CECapitolium4‘The Capitoline Hill, one of the seven hills of Rome’oblique stem of caput
  6. Frenchc. 1600–presentCapitole5
  7. Frenchc. 1600–presentcapitoul5‘a capitoul or capitol: the former chief magistrates of the city of Toulouse’
  8. Englishtodaycapitoul5

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, Proto-Indo-European *káput
  2. 2 Wiktionary, Latin caput
  3. 3 Wiktionary, Latin Capitolium
  4. 4 Wiktionary, French Capitole
  5. 5 Wiktionary, English capitoul

Lineage

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*kap-Wiktionary, Proto-Indo-European *káput‘head’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*káputWiktionary, Latin caput‘head’reconstructed
  3. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*kaputWiktionary, Latin caput‘head’reconstructed
  4. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEcaputWiktionary, Latin Capitolium‘head’
  5. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CECapitoliumWiktionary, French Capitole‘The Capitoline Hill, one of the seven hills of Rome’oblique stem of caput
  6. Frenchc. 1600–presentCapitoleWiktionary, English capitoul
  7. Frenchc. 1600–presentcapitoulWiktionary, English capitoul‘a capitoul or capitol: the former chief magistrates of the city of Toulouse’
  8. EnglishtodaycapitoulWiktionary, English capitoul

The story

The name referenced the Roman Capitol and the town's Latin capitulum (‘charter; chapter’).

Full etymology on Wiktionary

Linked words

through Proto-Indo-European *kap- ‘head’

had, case, except, heavy, accept, receive, behavior, cash, catch, achieve, heavily, chase, cable, capable, recipe, reception, occupation, capacity, perception, haven, capture, behave, hawk, recipient, anticipation, anticipate, susceptible, deception, chassis, conceive, deceive, caption, deceptive, cater, captive, cassette, conceivable, capsule, captivity, casket, 140 more

through Proto-Indo-European *káput ‘head’

head, 66 more

through Proto-Italic *kaput ‘head’

capote, escapade, 67 more

through Latin caput ‘head’

captain, chapter, escape, chef, cattle, cabin, chapel, cape, precipitation, mischief, chaplain, cad, mischievous, chieftain, chattel, cabana, precipitate, caddie, capillary, occipital, chabot, jefe, capo, dishevelled, capa, scamper, scamp, capuchin, precipitous, kaput, chaperon, cabochon, caput, 71 more

Today it means

noun The former chief magistrates of the city of Toulouse, France.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “capitoul”; the older steps come from the Wiktionary entries for Proto-Indo-European *káput, Latin caput, Latin Capitolium, French Capitole. 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- / capitoul

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