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Previous Thread Next Thread Print Thread recapitulate #53517 01/22/2002 7:51 PM Joined: Jan 2002 Posts: 1 Morrow, Georgia AHBettsII stranger AHBettsII stranger Joined: Jan 2002 Posts: 1 Morrow, Georgia I am not posting this as a joke...I am very serious. I have recently come across the word 'recapitulate' used in conjunction with a lecture and its indication was the lecturer was reiterating or repeating what had been said and done previously. I am confused. If 'capitulate' means "To surrender under specified conditions; come to terms.", why then does 'recapitulate' mean "To repeat in concise form" and not "To resurrender under specified conditions; come to terms again."? Hendry the elder Hendry the elder Copy Link to Clipboard Share Post on Facebook Share Post on Twitter Re: recapitulate #53518 01/22/2002 8:20 PM Joined: Jan 2001 Posts: 13,858 wwh Carpal Tunnel wwh Carpal Tunnel Joined: Jan 2001 Posts: 13,858 If you look up etymology of "capitulate" I comes from a word that at first had nothing to do with "surrender". So "recapitulate" means to go back over the important points. . LL capitulatus, pp. of capitulare, to draw up in heads or chapters, arrange conditions < capitulum: see CAPITULAR6 1 to give up (to an enemy) on prearranged conditions; surrender conditionally 2 to give up; stop resisting —SYN YIELD Copy Link to Clipboard Share Post on Facebook Share Post on Twitter Re: recapitulate #53519 01/22/2002 8:22 PM Joined: Dec 2000 Posts: 13,803 Faldage Carpal Tunnel Faldage Carpal Tunnel Joined: Dec 2000 Posts: 13,803 Good question. The English word came from a Latin word meaning to draw up in chapters, hence, the terms or specified conditions. Recapitulate would be to sum up in the manner of chapter headings. The words probably started off closer together in meaning and then drifted off each in its own way. Copy Link to Clipboard Share Post on Facebook Share Post on Twitter Re: recapitulate #53520 01/22/2002 10:17 PM Joined: Nov 2000 Posts: 3,146 Northamptonshire, England Capital Kiwi Carpal Tunnel Capital Kiwi Carpal Tunnel Joined: Nov 2000 Posts: 3,146 Northamptonshire, England Interesting one, this. I remember wondering the same thing about the two words. Nice one, Stranger! And, yes, as both Bill and Faldage have stated, capitulare means to draw up chapter headings. The explanation I found went along the lines of it being used by Roman or later empires' officers to refer to the actual document which contained the heads of agreement for a surrender. Originally the capitulation wasn't the actual surrender, it was the agreement to do so on terms, written or not. But the meaning kept sliding. Although, if you stop to think about it, capitulation is usually used to refer to a "graceful" surrender. Words like "rout", "defeat", "overthrow", etc., are used for the success of the use of main force without negotiation. Gradually, this usage became the main one. Recapitulate, on the other hand, underwent no such transformation in meaning. Its meaning remained as "to summarise what went before". I remember an English lecturer once stating that his lesson plan overhead foil, which contained the points he was going to cover, was a "precapitulation"! The idiot also known as Capfka ... Copy Link to Clipboard Share Post on Facebook Share Post on Twitter Re: recapitulate #53521 01/24/2002 2:36 AM Joined: Mar 2000 Posts: 11,613 Louisville, Kentucky Jackie Carpal Tunnel Jackie Carpal Tunnel Joined: Mar 2000 Posts: 11,613 Louisville, Kentucky Oh my goodness, AHBettsII--I have been wanting to post this very thing, and just hadn't gotten around to it. Welcome aBoard! I've had special reason to think about Recapitulations lately, so the puzzling difference was on my mind. Hey--you precapitulated me! Copy Link to Clipboard Share Post on Facebook Share Post on Twitter Re: recapitulate #53522 01/24/2002 5:24 AM Joined: Mar 2001 Posts: 4,189 Rio Grande, Cape May County, N... WhitmanO'Neill Carpal Tunnel WhitmanO'Neill Carpal Tunnel Joined: Mar 2001 Posts: 4,189 Rio Grande, Cape May County, N... Thanks for the precap, Jackie! by the way, don't most folks use recap now, rather than the full word? Copy Link to Clipboard Share Post on Facebook Share Post on Twitter Re: recapitulate #53523 01/24/2002 7:55 PM Joined: Sep 2000 Posts: 4,757 maverick Carpal Tunnel maverick Carpal Tunnel Joined: Sep 2000 Posts: 4,757 yeahbut® this would be true precapitulation, if Jackie had said: "I was going to post about this very topic but I gave up before I got ahead with it!" Copy Link to Clipboard Share Post on Facebook Share Post on Twitter Re: recapitulate #53524 01/25/2002 11:29 PM Joined: Mar 2000 Posts: 11,613 Louisville, Kentucky Jackie Carpal Tunnel Jackie Carpal Tunnel Joined: Mar 2000 Posts: 11,613 Louisville, Kentucky Now, dag nab it (AVY, where are you???)--you-all keep puttin' words in my fingertips...but you said it better'n I could, anyway! Copy Link to Clipboard Share Post on Facebook Share Post on Twitter Moderated by  Jackie  Hop To General Topics ------  Information and announcements  Q&A about words  Wordplay and fun  Words and languages in schools  Miscellany  Weekly Themes  Looking for (writers, speakers,... (Old) Weekly themes. 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