Meanings
nouncaitive (plural caitives)
plural caitives
- obsoleteA captive.
What hard mishap him brought to such distresse, And made that caitives thrall, the thrall of wretchedness
1590, Edmund Spenser, “Book II, Canto IV”, in The Faerie Queene. […], London: […] [John Wolfe] for William Ponsonbie, →OCLC1 more example
When whelmed in their wicked worke those cursed Caitives lay The Earth their mother tooke their bloud yet warme and (as they say) Did give it life.
1567, Ovid, “(please specify the book number or chapter)”, in Arthur Golding, transl., The XV. Bookes of P. Ouidius Naso, Entytuled Metamorphosis, […], London: […] Willyam Seres […], →OCLC
Cite this entry
APA
caitive. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/caitive
MLA
“caitive.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/caitive. Accessed November 3, 2026.
Chicago
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “caitive,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/caitive.
Source: caitive on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.