capitulate

Definitions

From Latin capitulum ('little head' → a heading) + -ate. To capitulate first meant to set out terms of surrender under headings, point by point. The list of headings dropped away over time, leaving just the act of giving in.

Why It Means This

The surprise inside capitulate is that it began as paperwork, not defeat. Capitulum meant a 'little head,' i.e. a heading, and to capitulate was to draw up surrender terms heading by heading — an orderly, negotiated process. Because such documents always recorded one side giving up, the word slid from 'arrange terms' to plain 'surrender.' Today it needs no battlefield at all: you capitulate to your kids' demands.

Common Collocations

• 1.capitulate to向……屈服
• 2.finally capitulate最终投降
• 3.refuse to capitulate拒绝屈服

Example Sentences

• 1.

  After weeks of pressure, the company capitulated to the union's demands.

• 2.

  The garrison finally capitulated when supplies ran out.

• 3.

  He refused to capitulate, no matter how they threatened him.

Easily Confused

capitulate vs. recapitulate: despite the shared root, they are unrelated in meaning. Capitulate = surrender (give in to pressure). Recapitulate = summarize (go back over the main points). The re- one is about reviewing, not yielding.

Synonym Comparison