caption

American  

[kap-shuhn] / ˈkæp ʃən /

noun

captions plural

1. a title or explanation for a picture or illustration, as in a magazine, newspaper, or book.

2. a heading or title, as of a chapter, article, or page.

3. Movies, Television, Digital Technology.

   1. a transcription or translation of dialogue and a written description of other audio elements, as sound effects, music, or atmospheric sounds, displayed as a graphic overlay on the lower part of the screen in a television program, film, video, or video game.

   2. subtitle.

   3. a title or annotation displayed as a graphic overlay on the screen in a television program, film, video, or video game, as to set the scene, name a location, or specify a time or date.

4. Law. the heading of a legal document stating the time, place, etc., of execution or performance.

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verb (used with object)

captions, present (3rd person singular) captioned, past participle, past captioning present participle

1. to supply a caption or captions for.

   to caption a photograph.

caption British  

/ ˈkæpʃən /

noun

1. a title, brief explanation, or comment accompanying an illustration; legend

2. a heading, title, or headline of a chapter, article, etc

3. graphic material, usually containing lettering, used in television presentation

4. another name for subtitle

5. the formal heading of a legal document stating when, where, and on what authority it was taken or made

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verb

1. to provide with a caption or captions

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• subcaption
  noun
• supercaption
  noun
• captionless
  adjective
• uncaptioned
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• captions
  plural

Participles

• captioning
  present
• captioned
  past

Conjugated Forms

Present

• caption
  simple
• captions
  simple
• have captioned
  perfect
• has captioned
  perfect
• am captioning
  progressive
• are captioning
  progressive
• is captioning
  progressive
• have been captioning
  perfect progressive
• has been captioning
  perfect progressive

Past

• captioned
  simple
• had captioned
  perfect
• was captioning
  progressive
• were captioning
  progressive
• had been captioning
  perfect progressive

Future

• will caption
  simple
• will have captioned
  perfect
• will be captioning
  progressive
• will have been captioning
  perfect progressive

Etymology

Origin of caption

First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English capcio(u)n “seizure,” from Latin captiōn- (stem of captiō ), equivalent to capt(us) “taken” ( see captive) + -iōn- -ion

Explanation

A caption is a brief description accompanying an illustration. You know the online photo of your baby cousin face-planting into a cake? The description underneath it that says "Hugh's First Birthday" — that's the caption. The Latin root of caption is capito, which means "seizing" or "holding." What do captions have to do with seizing? Nothing. Centuries ago, when authorities seized someone's property for legal reasons, they presented documents that began with the phrase "certificate of caption." Eventually people began using the word to refer to the beginning of any document. Then they began using it to mean any article or chapter heading. And from chapter headings it was a short hop to picture headings. A long journey for a word whose definition includes the description "brief"!

Example Sentences

Send them to [email protected] by 2pm on Monday 14 June as a jpeg or gif, complete with a CAPTION.

From The Guardian • Jun. 7, 2010

CAPTION: Have the American people been told the truth about the assassination of President John Kennedy?

From Time Magazine Archive

CAPTION: If something happened to President Bush, are you confident that Vice President Quayle could lead the nation in the war with Iraq?

From Time Magazine Archive

CAPTION: How satisfied are you with available health care?

From Time Magazine Archive

CAPTION: Has the recession ended in the area where you live?

From Time Magazine Archive

Related Words

• inscription
• subtitle