Căp1, n.
[A-S. cappe, cap, cape, hood, D. kap, Ger. kappe; O. H. Ger. chappā, cloak, Icel. kápa, toga, Pr., Sp., & Pg. capa, It. cappa, Fr. cape, chape, cloak, L. Lat. capa, cappa, Bisc. capu, capea, capusaya, capisayo, perhaps of Iberian origin, as Isidorus, of Seville, 19, 31, mentions it first: “Capa, quia quasi totum capiat hominem; it. capitis ornamentum.”
Sense 1. A part of the dress, made to cover the head.
Sense 2. The mark or ensign of some rank, office, or dignity, as that of a cardinal. Shak.
Sense 3. The top, or the uppermost; the highest.
Thou art the cap of fools. Shak.
Sense 4. A respectful uncovering of the head.
He that will give a cap and make a leg in thanks for a favor he never received, deserveth rather to be blamed for want of wit, than to be praised for store of manners. Fuller.
Sense 5. Any thing resembling a cap in form, position, or use; as, (a.) (Arch.) The uppermost of an assemblage of parts; as, the cap of a column, door, &c. Gwillt. (b.) (Naut.) A thick, strong block of wood, holding two masts together when one is erected at the head of another; also a covering of tarred canvas at the end of a rope. Totten.
Cap of a cannon, a piece of lead laid over the vent to keep the priming dry;—now called an apron.—Cap of maintenance, a cap of state carried before the kings of England at the coronation. It is also carried before the mayors of some cities.—To set one's cap for, to take measures to gain the affections or favor of a man with a view to being married to him.