capisce

The story

1. Proto-Indo-European · derived from*kap-“to grab, seize; to hold”
2. Latin · derived fromcapere
3. Italian · derived fromcapisce
4. English todaycapisce

Unadapted borrowing from the spoken Neapolitan and Sicilian equivalents of either of the following: * Italian capisce (literally “he, she, etc., understands”), the third-person singular present indicative form; or * capisci (literally “you understand”) (possibly with the final vowel dropped or reduced in informal speech), the second-person singular present indicative form; of capire (“to understand”), from Latin capere, the present active infinitive of capiō (“to capture, catch, seize; to comprehend, understand; etc.”), ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *kap- (“to grab, seize; to hold”).

Words from the same roots