Where does “cape” come from?

Cape comes from Middle French cap, from Old Occitan cap, ultimately from Latin capitālis meaning "of the head," which derived from Latin caput meaning "head."

cape (English): A piece or point of land, extending beyond the...

Definitions

  1. A piece or point of land, extending beyond the...

Ancestry of “cape”, step by step

cape traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.

via Middle French cap

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Middle Frenchcaphead
2Old Occitancap—
3Vulgar Latincapus—
4Latincaputhead; headlike protuberance on an organ or body...
5Proto-Italickaputhead
6Proto-Indo-Europeankáputhead
7Proto-Indo-Europeankap-to seize, hold

via French cape

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Frenchcapecape; first-person singular present indicative of...
2Old Occitancapa—
3Late Latincappacape, hood; cloak; cape, cloak
4Ancient Greekκάππαkappa, the name for the tenth letter Κ, κ of the...
5Phoenician𐤊kaph; kap
6Egyptian𓂧—

Words derived from “cape”

Every word from Proto-Indo-European kap- →Every word from Proto-Indo-European káput →Every word from Proto-Italic kaput →