Meanings
nounkapo (plural kapos)
plural kapos
- historicalA prisoner in a Nazi concentration camp who was given food and privileges in return for supervising other prisoners doing forced labor.
- ethnicoffensiveslurvulgarA Jewish person perceived as enabling or assisting harm to the larger Jewish community by collaborating or allying with antisemites.
Synonyms: self-hating Jew
Synonyms & antonyms
nounA Jewish person perceived as enabling or assisting harm to the larger Jewish community by collaborating or allying with antisemites.
Similar
Broader
Origin
- GermanKapo
- Englishkapo
Borrowed from German Kapo, see there for further etymology. Doublet of corporal and capo.
More words from German
Full word history & related roots →Translations
French kapo
- kapoprisoner in a Nazi concentration camp, supervising other prisoners
German Kapo
- Kapoprisoner in a Nazi concentration camp, supervising other prisoners
Hebrew קאפו
- קאפוprisoner in a Nazi concentration camp, supervising other prisoners
Hungarian kápó
- kápóprisoner in a Nazi concentration camp, supervising other prisoners
Indonesian kapo
- kapoprisoner in a Nazi concentration camp, supervising other prisoners
Polish kapo
- kapoprisoner in a Nazi concentration camp, supervising other prisoners
Russian капо́
- капо́ (kapó)prisoner in a Nazi concentration camp, supervising other prisoners
Yiddish קאַפּאָ
- קאַפּאָ (kapo)prisoner in a Nazi concentration camp, supervising other prisoners
Rhymes & wordplay
Anagrams
Cite this entry
APA
kapo. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/kapo
MLA
“kapo.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/kapo. Accessed November 3, 2026.
Chicago
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “kapo,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/kapo.
Source: kapo on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.