cape

C2+ Topic:General Vocabulary

US /keɪp/ UK /keɪp/ See IPA manual

Meanings

1

noun
a sleeveless cloak; a headland jutting into the sea

She fastened the velvet cape around her shoulders.

Thesaurus

Synonyms

1 noun · a sleeveless cloak; a... cloak mantle wrap headland promontory point

Word family

Related forms caped

Appears in

Proverbs (1)

See all

Don't tug on Superman's cape

Simplified etymology

Cape meaning ‘cloak’ came into Middle English from Latin cappa, ‘hood’; such cloaks originally had hoods. The geographical cape, a headland, goes back to Latin caput, ‘head’. The two Latin words may be related.

Etymology

The garment is from French cape, from Late Latin cappa ('hooded cloak'). The headland sense is from French cap, from Latin caput ('head').

cappa la-lat caput Latin

View etymology graph ->

Topics

General Vocabulary

External links

# cape

**Type:** Word
**Level:** C2+
**Part of speech:** noun
**IPA (US):** /keɪp/
**IPA (UK):** /keɪp/

## Meanings
1. a sleeveless cloak; a headland jutting into the sea

## Examples
- She fastened the velvet cape around her shoulders.

## Synonyms
- cloak
- mantle
- wrap
- headland
- promontory
- point

## Related Forms
- caped

## Roots and Affixes
- Root: cappa
- Root: caput

## Etymology
The garment is from French cape, from Late Latin cappa ('hooded cloak'). The headland sense is from French cap, from Latin caput ('head').

## AI Etymology
Cape is traced as follows: The garment is from French cape, from Late Latin cappa ('hooded cloak'). The headland sense is from French cap, from Latin caput ('head'). The historical trail runs through cappa in Latin and caput in Latin. Used as a noun, cape now means "a sleeveless cloak; a headland jutting into the sea", so the present definition can be read against the older forms and meanings. The same lexical family is also visible in related forms such as caped. The result is a borrowed or transmitted form whose modern spelling carries a compact record of its route into English.

## Topics
- General Vocabulary

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