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Synonyms

capon

American  
[kay-pon, -puhn] / ˈkeɪ pɒn, -pən /

noun

  • capons
    plural
  1. a cockerel castrated to improve the flesh for use as food.


capon British  
/ ˈkeɪpən /

noun

  1. a castrated cock fowl fattened for eating

"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

Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms


Etymology

Origin of capon

First recorded before 1000; Middle English; Old English capun, from Latin capōn- (stem of capō ) “castrated cock”; akin to Greek kóptein “to cut,” Old Church Slavonic skopiti “to castrate”


Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

See Examples For:

On second thought, this could be the year of the capon.

From Washington Post ● Jan. 2, 2017

Bill occupied the kitchen, and invariably cooked a turkey at Thanksgiving and a capon at Christmas.

From Salon ● Feb. 27, 2013

Sixty-nine dignitaries enjoyed a lavish spread featuring 12 courses, including eggs stuffed with foie gras, turtle soup and Sussex capon.

From BBC ● Nov. 25, 2012

She recalled her father carving a cold galantine of capon at Christmas, and her Aunt Cettina, who had a way with pasta, encouraging her to linger in the kitchen.

From New York Times ● Jun. 9, 2012

One of the women had taken to sleeping in Weese's bed, and she got a piece of ripe blue cheese as well, and a wing off the capon that Weese had spoken of that morning.

From "A Clash of Kings" by George R.R. Martin

“Isn’t it strange that the only people who eat capons are sixteenth-century courtiers and twenty-first-century Brooklyn hipsters?” a publisher in his thirties, at the Susan B. Anthony setting, observed as he chewed.

From The New Yorker ● Aug. 21, 2018

In Shakespeare, capons are an indulgence - they are a favourite of Sir John Falstaff , and in The Two Gentlemen of Verona Launce's dog Crab steals a capon-leg from Sylvia's table.

From BBC ● Apr. 20, 2016

The great cartoon fowls — Daffy Duck above all, of course, but also Donald and Daisy and Foghorn Leghorn and Henery Hawk — were capering capons safe from human predation.

From Time ● Oct. 31, 2013

Meanwhile, the years of superstardom were limited, because castrati tended to age badly: "Most of them become as big and fat as capons, with round and chubby hips, rumps, arms and throats."

From Slate ● Nov. 9, 2009

Maester Luwin sent Poxy Tym down to the kitchens, and they dined in the solar on cheese, capons, and brown oatbread.

From "A Clash of Kings" by George R.R. Martin

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