English
captive
Captive may come from Latin captīvus ‘a captive, a prisoner’, and goes back to Proto-Indo-European *kap- ‘seize, hold’.
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*kap-1‘seize, hold’uncertain
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEcaptīvus1‘a captive, a prisoner’uncertain
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500captif1‘a captive or hostage’
- Englishearliest quotation c. 1593captive1
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor
- 1 Wiktionary, English captive
- Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: c. 1593, William Shakespeare, The Tragedy of Richard the Third: […]: “Even in so short a space, my woman's heart…”.
Lineage
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*kap-Wiktionary, English captive‘seize, hold’uncertain
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEcaptīvusWiktionary, English captive‘a captive, a prisoner’uncertain
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500captifWiktionary, English captive‘a captive or hostage’
- Englishearliest quotation c. 1593captiveWiktionary, English captive. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: c. 1593, William Shakespeare, The Tragedy of Richard the Third: […]: “Even in so short a space, my woman's heart…”
The story
Inherited from Middle English captif; derived from Latin captīvus, probably through a borrowing from a Middle French intermediate.
Linked words
through Proto-Indo-European *kap- ‘seize, hold’
had, head, case, heavy, except, behavior, cash, accept, catch, capital, heavily, receive, chase, achieve, capacity, cable, captain, chapter, chef, recipe, capable, escape, occupation, recipient, cattle, cabin, haven, reception, perception, capture, chapel, hawk, behave, cape, capitol, anticipation, anticipate, chassis, precipitation, capita, 176 more
Today it means
noun One who has been captured or is otherwise confined.
Sources
Sources: Wiktionary, “captive”. 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- / captive