Etymograph

English

catchpole

Catchpole comes from Old French chacepol ‘one who chases fowls’, and goes back to Proto-Indo-European *kap-.

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*kap-1root named by Wiktionary · steps between not traced
  2. Old Frenchc. 842–1400chacepol1‘one who chases fowls’
  3. Englishearliest quotation 1930catchpole1

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, English catchpole
  2. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1930, Norman Lindsay, Redheap: “With two such catchpoles as Henry and Uncle Fred…”.

Lineage

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*kap-Wiktionary, English catchpoleroot named by Wiktionary · steps between not traced
  2. Old Frenchc. 842–1400chacepolWiktionary, English catchpole‘one who chases fowls’
  3. Englishearliest quotation 1930catchpoleWiktionary, English catchpole. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1930, Norman Lindsay, Redheap: “With two such catchpoles as Henry and Uncle Fred…”

Linked words

through Proto-Indo-European *kap-

had, head, case, except, heavy, accept, receive, capital, captain, cash, behavior, capacity, heavily, chapter, escape, achieve, capable, capture, chase, recipe, reception, perception, cable, haven, cape, occupation, chef, behave, recipient, cabin, chapel, hawk, capitol, deception, capita, anticipation, cattle, anticipate, caption, susceptible, 176 more

Today it means

noun A taxman, one who gathers taxes.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “catchpole”. 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- / catchpole

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