Etymology

capitalism

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Today it means: A socio-economic system based on private ownership of resources, and capital and their exploitation for profit. Full definition →

French capitalisme ← Latin capitāli ← Proto-Indo-European *h₂élisder.?
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The story

  1. Proto-Indo-European*kap-?
  2. Proto-Indo-European*kap-
  3. Proto-Indo-European*káput
  4. Proto-Italic*kaput
  5. Latincaput
  6. Proto-Indo-European*h₂el-
  7. Proto-Indo-European*h₂élisder.?
  8. Latincapitāli
  9. Frenchcapital
  10. Frenchcapitalisme
  11. English todaycapitalism

Borrowed from French capitalisme (“the condition of one who is rich”); equivalent to capital + -ism. Derived from Proto-Indo-European *káput (“head”), ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *kap-. First used in English by novelist William Thackeray in The Newcomes [1854-1855].

Words from the same roots

Proto-Indo-European*káput all →

achievecappuccinocapitalisticcapitulationscarper

Proto-Indo-European*kap- all →

heavycaptainoccupationchieftainheftcaddieprecipicecapitalisticcapitulationcapitulateprecipitantcadelcapitellumkapala

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.