English
captivate
Captivate comes from Late Latin captīvātus ‘captured’, from Latin captīvus ‘captive, prisoner’, and ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *kap- ‘to hold’.
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*kap-‘to hold’reconstructed
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEcapiō‘to capture, seize’
- Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEcaptīvus‘captive, prisoner’
- Late Latinc. 200–600 CEcaptīvō‘to capture’
- Late Latin, derivedc. 200–600 CEcaptīvātus‘captured’perfect passive participle of captīvō
- Englishearliest quotation 1535captivate
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed
Lineage
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*kap-‘to hold’reconstructed
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEcapiō‘to capture, seize’
- Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEcaptīvus‘captive, prisoner’
- Late Latinc. 200–600 CEcaptīvō‘to capture’
- Late Latin, derivedc. 200–600 CEcaptīvātus‘captured’perfect passive participle of captīvō
- Englishearliest quotation 1535captivate
Earliest quotation: 1535, Myles Coverdale: “Hir ſlippers rauyſhed his eyes, hir bewtye captyuated his…”
Linked words
through Proto-Indo-European *kap- ‘to hold’
had, head, case, heavy, except, behavior, capital, achieve, heavily, catch, capacity, captain, escape, chef, chapter, haven, acceptable, acceptance, behave, cabin, occupation, cape, chapel, hawk, cattle, capitol, chassis, capita, precipitation, cashier, mischief, capsule, chaplain, conceive, cad, mischievous, cassette, casket, haves, conceivable, 153 more
through Latin capiō ‘to capture, seize’
cash, receive, accept, chase, cop, cable, capable, recipe, recipient, reception, capture, perception, anticipation, susceptible, deception, anticipate, deceit, deceive, cater, deceptive, preoccupation, receivable, perceptible, preceptor, sashay, captor, 26 more
Today it means
verb To make (a person, an animal, etc.) a captive; to take prisoner; to capture, to subdue.
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *kap- / captivate