cap-a-pie

or cap-à-pie

[kap-uh-pee]

adverb

from head to foot.

Origin of cap-a-pie

1515–25; < Middle French de cap a pe from head to foot < Old Provençal < Latin dē capite ad pedem

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Examples from the Web for cap-a-pie

Historical Examples of cap-a-pie

Thus was Duncan armed, cap-a-pie, for the telegraphic controversy.
A Captain in the Ranks
George Cary Eggleston
Next day we hired two stalwart Irish squires and armed them cap-a-pie.
Yolanda: Maid of Burgundy
Charles Major
He armed himself, therefore, cap-a-pie, and undertook this dangerous parley with the alcayde.
Chronicle of the Conquest of Granada
Washington Irving
Meanwhile, come down to my house the last of the week, say Friday night, and I'll have all things in cap-a-pie order for you.
The Brother Clerks
Xariffa
He had said in reply, "Such a man as I ought to reign;" and thus they had armed him cap-a-pie.
Voltaire's Romances
Franois-Marie Arouet

British Dictionary definitions for cap-a-pie

cap-a-pie

adverb

(dressed, armed, etc) from head to foot

Word Origin for cap-a-pie

C16: from Old French

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for cap-a-pie

adj.

1520s, from Middle French cap-à-pie, literally "head to foot." The more usual French form is de pied en cap. The French words are from Latin caput "head" (see head (n.)) + pedem "foot" (see foot (n.)).