captivate

captivate · verb¹

1. Proto-Indo-European · derived from*kap-“to hold; to seize”
2. Latin · derived fromcaptīvus“captive, prisoner”
3. Late Latin · learned borrowing fromcaptīvātus
4. English todaycaptivate

Learned borrowing from Late Latin captīvātus, the perfect passive participle of captīvō (“to capture”), from Latin captīvus (“captive, prisoner”) (ultimately from capiō (“to capture, seize”), from Proto-Indo-European *kap- (“to hold; to seize”)) + -ō (suffix forming first-conjugation verbs). Equivalent to captive + -ate (verb-forming suffix).

captivate · adjective²

See Etymology 1. Equivalent to captive + -ate (adjective-forming suffix)

Words from the same roots