Kap
/kæp/noun
A Scots and dialectal English variant of “cap,” meaning a close-fitting hat or covering.
Did you know?Its deeper ancestry reaches back to the Proto-Indo-European word for “head,” showing how a word for the body’s highest point became associated with coverings, leaders, and supremacy.
Etymological Timeline
Proto-Indo-European
PIE
*káput
“Head; the uppermost part of the body”
Proto-Germanic
PGmc
*haubidą
“Head; the source of later Germanic forms such as Old English heafod”
Latin
Latin
caput
“Head; chief or foremost part”
Old French
Old French
cape
“Cap or hood; a covering for the head”
Middle English
English
cap
“A close-fitting head covering”
Scots and dialectal English
Scots/English
kap
“Variant spelling and pronunciation of “cap””
Modern usage
English
kap
“A regional or dialectal form of “cap,” rather than a common standard-English spelling”