Cognate Set 6432 – Meaning: head

IE-CoR reference form:
*kap-
IE-CoR reference language:
Proto-Indo-European
Ideophonic:
no
Parallel derivation:
no
Proposed as cognate to:
kapā́la- [Vedic] scale: 4
Justification:
Germanic lexemes from Proto-Germanic *ha(u)beda- ~ *ha(u)buda- 'head' and Italic lexemes from Latin caput, generally considered root and suffix cognate, but further identification of an Indo-European root etymology remains controversial. A frequent suggestion is to PIE *keh₂p- 'to grasp, seize' found in Latin capiō, -ere 'id.' (cf. Kroonen 2013:215, de Vaan 2008:91). Alternatively a frequent comparison is made to Sanskrit kapā́la- 'cup, skull' with a different nominal suffix, but this cognate relationship remains uncertain (Kluge 2011:530-531, KEWA I:155, EWAia I:300).
Found in clades:
Germanic, Italic
Revised by:
Matthew Scarborough
Found in 2 clades by 35 lexemes.
Language Lexeme Native script Phonetic Phonemic Notes
141   Catalan cap kap kap
110   Danish hoved ˈhoːəð
116   Dutch hoofd hoft
112   English head hɛd
104   Faroese høvd hœd̥ː more basic TKD
117   Flemish hoofd
114   Frisian holle ˈholə
103   Icelandic höfuð ˈhœːvʏð
144   Portuguese cabeça kɐˈβesɐ kɐˈβesɐ
105   Norwegian: Bokmål hode ˈhùːdə ˈhùːdɛ
143   Spanish cabeza kaˈβeθa kaˈbeθa
109   Swedish huvud ˈhʉ̀ːvɵd, ˈhʉ̀ːvə
124   Latin caput ˈkaput ˈkaput G.sg. capitis
130   Friulian cjâf ˈcaːf ˈcaːf Deriv. ciavon.
108   Old Swedish hovudh ˈhovuð hovuð
107   Elfdalian ovuð ˈòvʉð ˈòvʉð
125   Romanian cap kap kap
128   Neapolitan capa ˈkapə ˈkapə
131   Ladin cef ˈtʃef
135   Anglo-Norman chef
142   Old Spanish cabeça kaˈbetsa
126   Megleno-Romanian cap
140   Old Catalan cap kap kap kab = until the end of the 12th c. (13th?)
127   Dalmatian: Vegliote kup kup
119   Old High German houbit ˈhou̯bit ˈhou̯bit
113   Old Frisian hāved ˈhaːved ˈhaːfed
120   Middle High German houbet ˈhou̯bət ˈhou̯bət
111   Old English hēafod ˈhæːɑ̯vod ˈhæːɑ̯fod
118   Old Saxon hôƀid ˈhɔːβid ˈhɔːbid
115   Middle Dutch hovet ˈhoːvət ˈhoːvət
102   Old Icelandic hǫfuð ˈhɔvuð ˈhɔfuθ
101   Gothic haubiþ 𐌷𐌰𐌿𐌱𐌹𐌸 ˈhɔːβiθ ˈhɔːbiθ
145   Portuguese: Brazilian cabeça
132   Milanese có ko All informants gave “có” and “crápa” as equally frequent synonyms. As the second (but not the first) can also mean “skull”, I am reporting “có” as the main one.
106   Norwegian: Nynorsk hovud ˈhoːʋʉd ˈhoːʋʉd
References
  • Kluge, Friedrich: 530-531
    S.v. NHG Haupt (MHG houbet, OHG houbit, OS hōbid), from Germanic *haubida- 'Haupt', also found in Goth. haubiϸ, ON haufið, OE hēafod, OFr. hāved, hā(u)d, hafd. May be compared with Lat. caput and probably from a formation with suffix ablaut *kapwet-, *kaput-. Other words from the same root like Skt. kapā́la- 'Schale, Hirnschale, Schädel' suggest semantics from 'Hirnschale'.
  • Kroonen, Guus: 215
    S.v. Proto-Germanic *ha(u)beda- ~ *ha(u)buda- 'head', from PIE *kh₂p-ut- (cf. Lat. caput, -itis 'head'; OIr. cúach, W cawg 'cup' < *kapuko-). Cf. entry in Kroonen regarding the variation of the root *hab- ~ *haub- in Germanic.
  • de Vaan, Michiel: 91
    S.v. Lat. caput, -itis 'head', from Proto-Italic *kaput-. IE cognates exist in Celtic (OIr. cúāch, W. cawg 'cup') and Germanic (Goth. haubiþ 'head', ONor. hǫfuð, haufuð, OEng. hēafod, OHG houbit, NHG Haupt, etc), perhaps derived from PIE *keh₂p- 'fassen, schnappen' also found in Lat. capiō, -ere [cf. [cognate set 5290](cog-5290)].