caption

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Contents

English [edit]

Pronunciation [edit]

Etymology [edit]

Recorded since c.1384, "taking, seizure," from Old French capcion or directly from Latin captio, from the past participle of capere ("to take").

Noun [edit]

caption (plural captions)

  1. (typography) The descriptive heading or title of a document or part therof
  2. A title or brief explanation attached to an illustration or cartoon.
  3. (cinematography) A piece of text appearing on screen as subtitle or other part of a film or broadcast.
  4. (law) The section on an official paper that describes when, where, what was taken, found or executed, and by whom it was authorized.
  5. (obsolete, law) A seizure or capture, especially of tangible property (chattel).
    • 1919 Thomas Welburn Hughes. A treatise on criminal law and procedure. The Bobbs-Merril Co., Indianapolis, IN, USA. Sec. 557 (p. 378).
      The caption and asportation must be felonious.

Usage notes [edit]

In film and video, captions may transcribe or describe all significant dialogue and sound for viewers who cannot hear it, while subtitles translate foreign-language dialogue.

Derived terms [edit]

Related terms [edit]

Translations [edit]

descriptive title or heading of (part of) a document
title or brief explanation attached to an illustration or cartoon
piece of text appearing on screen as part of a film or broadcast
section of an official paper
capture — see capture

Verb [edit]

caption (third-person singular simple present captions, present participle captioning, simple past and past participle captioned)

  1. To add captions to a text or illustration.
    Only once the drawing is done will the letterer caption it.
  2. To add captions to a film or broadcast.

Translations [edit]

to add captions to a text or illustration
to add captions to a film or broadcast

Anagrams [edit]

Pontiac

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