Where does “captivity” come from?
Captivity comes from Middle English captivite, from Latin captivitas, derived from captivus meaning "taken prisoner," ultimately from the Proto-Indo-European root keh₂p- meaning "to seize."
captivity (English): The state of being captive; A group of...
Definitions
- The state of being captive; A group of...
Ancestry of “captivity”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Middle English | captivite | captivity or imprisonment; conquering, control;... |
| 2 | Latin | captivitas | captivity, bondage; capture; blindness |
| 3 | Latin | captīvus | a captive, a prisoner |
| 4 | Latin | captus | captured, having been captured, seized, having... |
| 5 | Latin | capiō | to take, to capture, to catch, to seize, to take captive, to storm |
| 6 | Proto-Italic | kapiō | take |
| 7 | Proto-Italic | kapjō | take, seize |
| 8 | Proto-Indo-European | kh₂pyéti | — |
| 9 | Proto-Indo-European | keh₂p- | to seize, grab; to seize; take up; lift; to take,... |