Where does “caplletra” come from?
caplletra (Catalan) comes from Catalan cap, from Vulgar Latin capus, from Latin caput, from Proto-Italic kaput, from Proto-Indo-European káput, from Proto-Indo-European kap- — to seize, hold.
caplletra (Catalan): initial, drop cap, versal
Definitions
- initial, drop cap, versal
Ancestry of “caplletra”, step by step
caplletra traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.
via Catalan cap
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Catalan | cap | head; boss, chief, leader; cape |
| 2 | Vulgar Latin | capus | — |
| 3 | Latin | caput | head; headlike protuberance on an organ or body... |
| 4 | Proto-Italic | kaput | head |
| 5 | Proto-Indo-European | káput | head |
| 6 | Proto-Indo-European | kap- | to seize, hold |
via Catalan lletra
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Catalan | lletra | letter of the alphabet; writing, handwriting;... |
| 2 | Latin | littera | a letter of the alphabet; handwriting; letter,... |
| 3 | Latin | lītera | — |
| 4 | Old Latin | leitera | — |
| 5 | Proto-Indo-European | h₂leyH- | to smear |
| 6 | Proto-Indo-European | leyh₂- | to die, disapear; to avoid, elude, decline,... |