# cape

Pronunciation: say "KAYP" /keɪp/

## Noun

1. A sleeveless garment, or part of a garment, that hangs from the neck over the back, shoulders, and arms.
   - Simple: A piece of clothing with no sleeves that hangs from the neck over the back and shoulders.
   - _The opera singer swept onstage in a velvet cape lined with silk._
   - _Victorian-style overcoats often had little capes attached at the shoulders._
2. A point or piece of land that extends out beyond the nearby coast into a sea or lake.
   - Simple: A piece of land that sticks out into the sea or a lake.
   - _Sailors dreaded rounding the cape in winter, when storms rolled in from the west._
   - _Several rocky capes shelter the bay from the open ocean._
4. A superhero, a fictional hero with powers beyond those of ordinary people. *(slang)*
   - Simple: A superhero, a hero with special powers who often wears a cape.
   - _The villain's lair was rigged to trap any cape foolish enough to come in alone._
   - _Half the capes in the city signed up for the government's hero registry._

## Verb

3. To cover someone or something with a cape, or in the way a cape covers.
   - Simple: To put a cape on someone, or to cover something the way a cape would.
   - _Stylists cape each client before the haircut begins._
   - _A heavy shawl caped her shoulders against the evening chill._
5. To defend or praise someone or something, especially someone or something unworthy of it; usually followed by for. *(slang, US)*
   - Simple: To defend or praise someone or something, especially when they do not deserve it.
   - _I'm not going to cape for a senator who voted against his own district._
   - _Fans kept caping for the rapper even after the leaked texts came out._

## Other meanings

- (verb) To provoke or draw a bull into charging in a particular direction by waving a cape.
- (verb) To head or point in a particular direction, or to keep to a course.
- (verb) To remove the skin of the head, neck, and usually shoulders from a killed animal, especially a deer, so it can be mounted as a trophy.

## Origin

**Meaning 2** — From Middle English cape, from Old French cap ("cape, headland"), from Latin caput ("head"). It is a doublet of capo, caput, chef and chief, and is distantly related to head and Howth.
**Meanings 1, 3–5** — English cape was borrowed from French cape, which traces back through Old Occitan capa to Late Latin cappa ("cape"). Superheroes’ frequent use of capes gave rise to the "superhero" sense. The verb meaning "defend, praise" draws on the image of caped heroes protecting people (compare caped crusader). English cape, capa, and cappa are doublets.

Source: DictionaryAI, https://dictionaryai.com/define/cape (written from Wiktionary data, CC BY-SA 4.0: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/).