Etymograph

English

caption

Caption comes from Latin captiō ‘deception, fraud’, from capiō ‘to take, to seize’, and ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *kap-.

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*kap-1reconstructed
  2. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*kapyéti1‘to be grasping’reconstructed
  3. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*kapjō2‘to take, seize’reconstructed
  4. Archaic Latinc. 700–75 BCEkapiō2
  5. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEcapiō3‘to take, to seize’
  6. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEcaptiō3‘deception, fraud’past participle of capiō
  7. Englishearliest quotation 1964caption3

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, Proto-Italic *kapjō
  2. 2 Wiktionary, Latin capio, which cites LIV
  3. 3 Wiktionary, English caption
  4. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1964, New Books: The History of Railways. By Erwin Berghaus. Barri: “Some of the photographs are new and interesting, but…”.

Lineage

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*kap-Wiktionary, Proto-Italic *kapjōreconstructed
  2. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*kapyétiWiktionary, Proto-Italic *kapjō‘to be grasping’reconstructed
  3. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*kapjōWiktionary, Latin capio, which cites LIV‘to take, seize’reconstructed
  4. Archaic Latinc. 700–75 BCEkapiōWiktionary, Latin capio, which cites LIV
  5. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEcapiōWiktionary, English caption‘to take, to seize’
  6. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEcaptiōWiktionary, English caption‘deception, fraud’past participle of capiō
  7. Englishearliest quotation 1964captionWiktionary, English caption. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1964, New Books: The History of Railways. By Erwin Berghaus. Barri: “Some of the photographs are new and interesting, but…”

Linked words

through Proto-Indo-European *kap-

had, head, heavy, except, catch, capital, achieve, heavily, behavior, capacity, captain, chapter, chef, escape, haven, behave, acceptance, cattle, cabin, chapel, hawk, cape, occupation, capitol, capita, mischief, chaplain, precipitation, conceive, mischievous, cad, conceivable, haves, chieftain, precipitate, occipital, heaviness, precipitous, capillary, chattel, 138 more

through Proto-Indo-European *kapyéti ‘to be grasping’

heave, heaving, heft, 27 more

through Proto-Italic *kapjō ‘to take, seize’

case, chassis, cashier, capsule, cassette, casket, kas, chasse, cajon, 26 more

through Archaic Latin kapiō

acceptable, imperceptible, 23 more

through Latin capiō ‘to take, to seize’

receive, cash, accept, chase, cop, cable, recipe, capable, recipient, capture, anticipate, reception, perception, deceive, susceptible, cater, anticipation, deceit, deceptive, deception, receivable, preoccupation, perceptible, preceptor, sashay, captor, 26 more

Today it means

noun The descriptive heading or title, of a document or part thereof.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “caption”; the older steps come from the Wiktionary entries for Proto-Italic *kapjō, Latin capio. 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- / caption

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