Cappe

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. An archaic term for a loose cloak or cape, often worn with a hood or as a long outer garment
2. A historical word for a sleeveless cloak or mantle worn over other clothing in medieval times
3. Older English name for a long, hooded cloak or mantle, sometimes worn as a ceremonial vestment

Etymology: The word enters the record as a shortened form of "Capitofsky," and English also anglicized that longer name into a spelling of its own. Along the way it passed through French, where the form "cappé" appears, and it also has an earlier Middle English ancestor, "cappe," which points to a garment or covering that the older English spelling and French form share. The "cappe" spelling in Middle English is the older link in this chain, and the French form sits between it and the modern English spelling. Because the shortened form and the anglicized form both descend from the same longer name, the English noun is best read as a single word that arrived by two routes, one clipped and one respelled.