capit

Capit is not an established standalone English word. In linguistic and etymological contexts, capit- or capitul- is treated as a stem derived from the Latin caput, meaning head. The root is used to form a range of English terms that convey concepts of headship, chief status, or foremost position.

In common usage, words built from this root include capital, capitol, captain, decapitate, and capitulation. Capital derives from Latin capitalis, meaning “of the head” and came to denote the head or chief part of something, as well as wealth or a city that governs; capitol refers to a building associated with a government, especially the one on Capitol Hill. Captain, through Old French and Latin intermediaries, denotes a leader or head of a group. Decapitate means to remove the head, and capitulation refers to surrender terms tied to the idea of “head” chapters or main points being agreed upon. Capitulum, meaning a small head or heading, gave rise to the modern chapter term in books.

In summary, capit- acts as a productive root in English morphology linked to headship and leadership, appearing across a family of words rather than standing alone as a separate lexical item. See also caput, capitulum, capital, capitol, captain, decapitation, and capitulation for related concepts and etymology.