capo

See also: Capo, capó, ĉapo, capô, and capo-

English

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈkæ.pəʊ/, /ˈkeɪ.pou/

Etymology 1

Shortening of capotasto, from Italian.

Noun

capo (plural capos)

1. A movable bar placed across the fingerboard of a guitar used to raise the pitch of all strings.

Synonyms

• (movable bar): capotasto

Translations

capotasto — see capotasto

Etymology 2

From Italian capo (“head, chief”).

Noun

capo (plural capos or capi)

1. A leader in the Mafia; a caporegime.
2. A leader and organizer of supporters at a sporting event, particularly association football matches.

Translations

Mafia leader

• Finnish: capo (fi)
• Portuguese: capo (pt) m

• Swedish: maffialedare c

Anagrams

• ACPO, APCO, CoAP, Copa, OPAC, Paco, acop, paco

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Catalan

Verb

capo

1. first-person singular present indicative form of capar

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Istriot

Etymology

From Vulgar Latin capus, from Latin caput.

Noun

capo m

1. head
   • 1877, Antonio Ive, Canti popolari istriani: raccolti a Rovigno, volume 5, Ermanno Loescher, page 40:

     Nun o’ pioün veîsto el pioûn biel capo biondo.

     I haven’t seen a more beautiful blonde head.

Synonyms

• tiesta

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Italian

Etymology

From Vulgar Latin capus, from Latin caput, from Proto-Italic *kaput, from Proto-Indo-European *káput. Doublet of chef.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈkaː.po/

Noun

capo m (plural capi)

1. head

   Synonym: testa

2. boss, chief, leader, master
3. end (of a rope etc)

   Synonyms: fine, estremità

4. cape (especially when capitalised in placenames)
5. ply
6. buddy
7. (heraldry) chief

Adjective

capo (invariable)

1. head, chief, leading

   ispettore capo ― chief inspector

Related terms

• a capo
• appoggiacapo
• caparra
• capata
• capatina
• capezzale
• capinera
• capitare
• capitello
• capitombolo
• capo-
• capocchio
• capo d'abbigliamento
• capodanno
• capo del governo
• capo di stato
• capo di vestiario
• capogiro
• capolino
• caposaldo
• caposcala
• caposcalo
• daccapo
• in capo a
• rompicapo
• sottocapo
• tra capo e collo

 

Descendants

• → English: capo
• →? Istriot: capo
• → Spanish: capo

Anagrams

• paco, pacò, poca

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Latin

Etymology

Possibly from Proto-Indo-European *(s)kep- or *(s)kap- (“to hew, cut, shovel”), from a PIE substrate word that also gave Latin scapulae - see Ancient Greek κόπτω (kóptō), Ancient Greek σκάπτω (skáptō) for further cognates and discussion, as well as Proto-Indo-European *kap-. Alternatively, from another substrate word that also gave Latin caper. In both cases the vocalism requires postulating a substrate origin.

Alternative forms

• cāpus (archaic)
• *cappō (reconstructed)

Pronunciation

• (Classical) IPA^(key): /ˈkaː.poː/, [ˈkäːpoː]
• (Ecclesiastical) IPA^(key): /ˈka.po/, [ˈkäːpo]

Noun

cāpō m (genitive cāpōnis); third declension

1. a capon (castrated cockerel)
2. (in general) a rooster

Declension

Third-declension noun.

Case	Singular	Plural
Nominative	cāpō	cāpōnēs
Genitive	cāpōnis	cāpōnum
Dative	cāpōnī	cāpōnibus
Accusative	cāpōnem	cāpōnēs
Ablative	cāpōne	cāpōnibus
Vocative	cāpō	cāpōnēs

Descendants

• Catalan: capó
• Friulian: cjapon
• → Greek: καπόνι (kapóni)
• Italian: cappone
• → Middle Dutch: capoen
  • Dutch: kapoen
• Occitan: capon
• → Old English: capūn
  • Middle English: capoun
    • English: capon
• Old French: chapon
  • Middle French: chappon
    • French: chapon
• → Old High German: chappo
  • Middle High German: kappūn
    • German: Kapaun
      • → Latvian: kapauns
  • → Polish: kapłon
    • → Romanian: clapon
• Old Portuguese: capon
  • Galician: capón
  • Portuguese: capão
• Romanian: clapon
• Sardinian: caboni
• Sicilian: capuni
• Spanish: capón
• Venetian: capón

References

• De Vaan, Michiel (2008), “cāpus; scapulae”, in Etymological Dictionary of Latin and the other Italic Languages (Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series; 7), Leiden, Boston: Brill, →ISBN

Further reading

• “capo”, in Charlton T[homas] Lewis; Charles [Lancaster] Short (1879) […] A New Latin Dictionary […], New York, N.Y.; Cincinnati, Ohio; Chicago, Ill.: American Book Company; Oxford: Clarendon Press.
• capo in Gaffiot, Félix (1934) Dictionnaire illustré Latin-Français, Hachette

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Portuguese

Pronunciation

• Rhymes: -apu

Verb

capo

1. first-person singular (eu) present indicative of capar

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Spanish

Etymology 1

Borrowed from Italian capo (“head”). Related to cabo.

Noun

capo m (plural capos)

1. gangster
2. by extension, a very able person at doing something
3. boss, chief

Etymology 2

See capar

Verb

capo

1. First-person singular (yo) present indicative form of capar.

Further reading

• “capo”, in Diccionario de la lengua española, Vigésima tercera edición, Real Academia Española, 2014