Where does “capitals” come from?
Capitals comes from Latin capitalis, derived from Latin caput meaning head, with the -alis suffix forming an adjective relating to or pertaining to the head.
capitals (English): plural of capital
Ancestry of “capitals”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|
| 1 | English | capital | Already-produced durable goods available for use... |
| 2 | French | capital | capital |
| 3 | Latin | capitālis | — |
| 4 | Latin | caput | head; headlike protuberance on an organ or body... |
| 5 | Proto-Italic | kaput | head |
| 6 | Proto-Indo-European | káput | head |
| 7 | Proto-Indo-European | kap- | to seize, hold |