Caption

Pronunciation

• IPA: /ˈkæp.ʃn/

Origin

Attested c.1384, in sense “taking, seizure”, from Old French capcion or directly from Latin captio, from the past participle of capiō ("I take, I seize") (English capture).

Full definition of caption

Noun

1. (typography) The descriptive heading or title of a document or part therof
2. A title or brief explanation attached to an illustration or cartoon.
3. (cinematography) A piece of text appearing on screen as subtitle or other part of a film or broadcast.
4. (legal) The section on an official paper that describes when, where, what was taken, found or executed, and by whom it was authorized.
5. (obsolete, legal) A seizure or capture, especially of tangible property (chattel).
• 1919 Thomas Welburn Hughes. A treatise on criminal law and procedure. The Bobbs-Merril Co., Indianapolis, IN, USA. Sec. 557 (p. 378).The caption and asportation must be felonious.

Usage notes

In film and video, captions may transcribe or describe all significant dialogue and sound for viewers who cannot hear it, while subtitles translate foreign-language dialogue.

Derived terms

• captioning, captioned, captioner
• film closed caption, closed-caption, closed captions, closed captioned, closed-captioned, close captioned, close-captioned, closed captioning, closed-captioning
• film open caption, open-caption, open captions
• film real time caption, real-time caption, real time captioning, real-time captioning

Related terms

• captious
• captivate
• captive
• capture

Verb

1. To add captions to a text or illustration.Only once the drawing is done will the letterer caption it.
2. To add captions to a film or broadcast.

Anagrams