Where does “captive” come from?
Captive comes from Middle English captif, from Latin captivus, an adjective formed with the Latin suffix -ivus from capio meaning "to seize," ultimately from Proto-Indo-European keh₂p- meaning "to grasp or seize."
captive (English): One who has been captured or is otherwise...
Definitions
- One who has been captured or is otherwise...
Ancestry of “captive”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Middle English | captif | A captive or hostage; Held captive; in slavery |
| 2 | Latin | captīvus | a captive, a prisoner |
| 3 | Latin | captus | captured, having been captured, seized, having... |
| 4 | Latin | capiō | to take, to capture, to catch, to seize, to take captive, to storm |
| 5 | Proto-Italic | kapiō | take |
| 6 | Proto-Italic | kapjō | take, seize |
| 7 | Proto-Indo-European | kh₂pyéti | — |
| 8 | Proto-Indo-European | keh₂p- | to seize, grab; to seize; take up; lift; to take,... |