Capitulator

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. An individual who concedes to pressure from an adversary
2. A person who agrees to submit under certain terms after resistance
3. A person who yields or gives in when confronted with demands or force

Etymology: "Capitulator" is built from "capitulate" and the agent suffix "-or," so it names the person who does the capitulating. The base verb comes from Late Latin "capitulare," meaning to draw up in chapters or headings, from "capitulum," a little head or section, which is also the source of "chapter." Agreements were once organized into numbered heads, and the sense of surrendering on agreed terms grew out of those negotiated documents. The idea of giving in, then, rests on a bargaining process: terms were set out article by article, and yielding meant accepting those articles. Over time the sense narrowed toward submission itself, so that a capitulator is someone who concedes under pressure rather than someone who simply writes up an agreement.

Synonyms: surrenderer, yielding person, submitter

Antonyms: resister, defender, opposer