See Also:

cap(1) (iou)



cap noun1. [kap] OE.
[Late Latin cappa, perh. from caput head.]
I. A covering for the head.
A hood. Only in OE.
A head-dress for women; latterly usu. a light one of muslin etc. for indoor use, worn by a nurse, woman servant, etc. ME.
mob-cap: see MOB noun2 3.
Any of various kinds of brimless head-dress, usu. soft and often with a peak, to be worn outdoors or for a special purpose (e.g. as part of academic or Highland dress), orig. only by men or boys. LME.
Basque cap, cloth-cap, dunce's cap, jockey cap, nightcap, skullcap, swimming cap, trencher cap, etc.
b. spec. A helmet, a headpiece of mail. LME.
c. A cardinal's biretta. L16.
d. A special cap awarded as a sign of membership of a sporting team, esp. a national team in international competition; transf. a person awarded such a cap. L19.
In full cap-paper:
a. A kind of wrapping paper. L16.
b. A size or kind of writing-paper. Cf. FOOLSCAP. M19.
A sum of money collected in a cap, esp. at a fox-hunt etc. from those who are not subscribing members. M19.
II. Something resembling this in shape, position, or use.
A caplike natural covering or topmost part. LME.
ice-cap, kneecap, snowcap, etc. WHITECAP.
W. Whitman The tossing waves,..the snowy, curling caps. F. O'Connor Her face, reddish under a cap of fox-colored hair.
b. spec. The top of a bird's head, when distinctively coloured. Also in names, as blackcap. L17.
c. The pileus of a mushroom or toadstool. Also in names, as death cap. M18.
A caplike part fitting over or forming the top or end of an object; a caplike cover or case; a device sealing the opening of a bottle etc., or protecting the lens of a camera etc. or the nib of a fountain pen. LME.
toecap: see TOE noun.
J. Ray The refining Furnace is covered with a thick cap of stone. J. Steinbeck Tom..loosened the oil cap with a pair of pliers.
Nautical. A wooden collar used to hold two masts together. E17.
A part laid horizontally along the top of various structures. L17.
R. Holme A Wall with a Cap or Head over the Door.
In full percussion cap. A metal or paper device (orig. cap-shaped) used with (real or toy) firearms and containing explosive powder which is exploded by the fall of a hammer. E19.
A contraceptive diaphragm. Cf. Dutch cap s.v. DUTCH adjective. E20.
III. Partly from the verb.
An imposed upper limit; an act of imposing an upper limit. L20.
Phrases: cap and bells: the insignia of the professional jester. cap in hand fig. humbly. cap of liberty a conical cap given to Roman slaves on emancipation, often used as a Republican symbol. cap of maintenance a cap or hat worn as a symbol of official dignity, or carried before a monarch etc. on ceremonial occasions. Dutch cap: see DUTCH adjective. Hungarian cap: see HUNGARIAN adjective. Kilmarnock cap: see KILMARNOCK 1. legal cap: see LEGAL adjective. Polar cap: see POLAR adjective. pull caps: see PULL verb. put on one's thinking cap: see THINKING noun 1a. saffron milk-cap: see SAFFRON adjective. set one's cap at seek to attract as a suitor. SHAGGY cap. the cap fits fig. a general remark is true of the person in question. throw one's cap over the windmill: see WINDMILL noun 1.
Comb.: cap-money = sense 5 above; cap-paper: see sense 4 above; cap rock an overlying stratum of (esp. resistant) rock; cap sleeve: extending only a short distance from the shoulder; capstone a stone which caps or crowns, a coping stone.
capful noun the amount that a cap will contain M17.
capless adjective M19.
caplike adjective resembling a cap in appearance, position, or use M19.