capitulate

WOTD – 9 April 2007    

English

Etymology

From the participle stem of Medieval Latin capitulare (“draw up under headings”), from Latin capitulum (“heading, chapter, title”), diminutive of caput (“head”).

Pronunciation

• (UK) IPA: /kəˈpɪ.tjʊ.leɪt/, /kəˈpɪ.tʃə.leɪt/
• (US) IPA: /kəˈpɪtʃ.jʊ.leɪt/, /kəˈpɪtʃ.jə.leɪt/

• Audio (US)

  (file)

Verb

capitulate (third-person singular simple present capitulates, present participle capitulating, simple past and past participle capitulated)

1. (obsolete) To draw up in chapters; to enumerate.
2. (obsolete) To draw up the articles of treaty with; to treat, bargain, parley.
3. To agree terms of surrender; to end all resistance, to give up; to go along with or comply.

   He argued and hollered for so long that I finally capitulated just to make him stop.

Related terms

• chapiter
• chapter
• capital
• capitalism
• captain
• capitulation
• capitulatory

Translations

to end all resistance; to give up; to go along with or comply

• Bulgarian: предавам се, капитулирам
• Esperanto: kapitulaci (eo)
• Finnish: antautua (fi), luovuttaa (fi), antaa periksi (fi)
• Greek: παραδίδομαι (el) (paradídomai) , συνθηκολογώ (el) (synthikologó) 

• Polish: kapitulować, poddać się
• Romanian: capitula (ro)
• Russian: капитулировать (ru) (kapitulírovat')  impf./pf., сдаваться (ru) (sdavát'sja)  impf., сдаться (ru) (sdát'sja)  impf.
• Swedish: kapitulera (sv), ge upp (sv), resignera (sv)