captivare

Captivare is a Latin verb meaning to seize or capture, to take prisoner, and by extension to captivate or charm. It belongs to the first conjugation and has principal parts such as captivō, captivāre, captivāvī, captivātum. The present infinitive is captivāre, and the passive form is captivārī. The word derives from the noun captivus, meaning captive, which in turn comes from capere, “to take.” The related noun captivātiō denotes the act of capturing or the state of being captive, and the adjective captivus means “captive.”

In classical Latin, captivare occurs in military or legal contexts, referring to taking enemies or hostages. Over time, the sense broadened in Latin and later in vernaculars to include figurative meanings, such as to captivate or charm someone’s attention.

Cognate forms appear in Romance languages, reflecting the same root. French captiver (to captivate), Spanish captivar or capturar (to capture, with captivar used in literary or formal contexts), and Italian catturare (to capture) show the range of related meanings. English inherits the semantic core through Old French captiver, yielding the modern verb captivate, whose primary sense is to attract and hold someone’s attention rather than to physically seize.

Usage note: in English, captivate is typically used in the sense of charming or enthralling, while the literal sense of capturing remains common in historical or military contexts. The word captivation or captivator-captivating forms appear in literary or academic discussions.