Etymograph

English

capitulum

Capitulum comes from Latin capitulum ‘a head-like object or structure’, and goes back to 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’uncertain
  5. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEcapitulum4‘a head-like object or structure’
  6. Englishtodaycapitulum4

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, Proto-Indo-European *káput
  2. 2 Wiktionary, Latin caput
  3. 3 Wiktionary, Latin capitulum
  4. 4 Wiktionary, English capitulum

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 capitulum‘head’uncertain
  5. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEcapitulumWiktionary, English capitulum‘a head-like object or structure’
  6. EnglishtodaycapitulumWiktionary, English capitulum

Linked words

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

had, case, except, heavy, accept, receive, cash, behavior, catch, achieve, heavily, chase, cable, capable, recipe, reception, capacity, occupation, perception, haven, behave, capture, hawk, recipient, anticipation, anticipate, susceptible, deception, chassis, conceive, deceive, caption, captive, cater, deceptive, cassette, capsule, conceivable, captivity, casket, 137 more

through Proto-Indo-European *káput ‘head’

head, 63 more

through Proto-Italic *kaput ‘head’

capote, escapade, 64 more

through Latin caput ‘head’

captain, escape, chef, cattle, cabin, cape, chapel, capitalism, precipitation, mischief, chaplain, cad, mischievous, chieftain, capitalize, cabana, precipitate, chattel, capillary, caddie, occipital, precipitous, chabot, capo, jefe, dishevelled, capa, scamper, scamp, capuchin, kaput, chaperon, cabochon, caput, capitaine, 68 more

through Latin capitulum ‘a head-like object or structure’

chapter, 8 more

Today it means

noun A densely clustered inflorescence composed of a large number of individual florets arising from a platform-like base.

Sources

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

Shirt and support for this word