capo

Alternative forms

• cāpus (archaic)
• *cappō (based on Romance descendants and Germanic borrowings)^[1]

Etymology

Unknown. Though a connection to Proto-Slavic *skopьcь (“castrated animal; eunuch”) is attractive, there are formal problems with the derivation. The Slavic is clearly derived from *skopiti (“to castrate”), which is likely an inherited root continuing Proto-Indo-European *(s)kep- (albeit itself unclear), but such a root clearly cannot account for the Latin vocalism. The alternative Proto-Indo-European *(s)keh₂p- or *(s)kap- (“to hew, cut?; to shovel”) (compare Ancient Greek σκάπτω (skáptō, “to dig”), Lithuanian skõpti (“to cut, grave”)) is disputed on both formal and semantic grounds. Most likely of substrate origin: the same source may have also given Latin scapulae;^[1] see Ancient Greek κόπτω (kóptō) and Proto-Indo-European *kap- for further possible cognates and discussion. Alternatively, from another substrate word that also gave Latin caper (“he-goat”) if its original meaning was “castrated animal”.^[1] In both cases the semantic connection is weak, however. Less likely, potentially related to Proto-Germanic *habukaz (“hawk”), Proto-Slavic *kobь̀cь (“small bird of prey: falcon ~ sparrowhawk ~ merlin ~ buzzard”) and Albanian gabonjë (“griffon vulture, eagle, hawk”), which may be yet another substrate word or Wanderwort.^[2]

Pronunciation

• (Classical Latin) IPA^(key): /ˈkaː.poː/, [ˈkäːpoː]
• (modern Italianate Ecclesiastical) IPA^(key): /ˈka.po/, [ˈkäːpo]

Noun

cāpō m (genitive cāpōnis); third declension

1. a capon (castrated cockerel)
2. (in general) a rooster

References

Further reading

• “capo”, in Charlton T. Lewis and Charles Short (1879) A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
• capo in Gaffiot, Félix (1934) Dictionnaire illustré latin-français, Hachette.

Pronunciation

• Rhymes: -apu

Verb

capo

1. first-person singular present indicative of capar

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈkapo/ [ˈka.po]
• Rhymes: -apo
• Syllabification: ca‧po

Etymology 1

Borrowed from Italian capo (“head”). Related to cabo.

Etymology 2

See the etymology of the corresponding lemma form.

Further reading

• “capo”, in Diccionario de la lengua española [Dictionary of the Spanish Language] (in Spanish), online version 23.8, Royal Spanish Academy [Spanish: Real Academia Española], 2024 December 10
• “capo”, in Diccionario de americanismos [Dictionary of Americanisms] (in Spanish), Association of Academies of the Spanish Language [Spanish: Asociación de Academias de la Lengua Española], 2010