Cap (kăp), n. [OE.
cappe, AS. cæppe, cap, cape, hood, fr. LL,
cappa, capa; perhaps of Iberian origin, as Isidorus
of Seville mentions it first: "Capa, quia quasi totum
capiat hominem; it. capitis ornamentum." See 3d Cape, and
cf. 1st Cope.] 1. A covering for the
head; esp. (a) One usually with a
visor but without a brim, for men and boys;
(b) One of lace, muslin, etc., for women, or
infants; (c) One used as the mark or
ensign of some rank, office, or dignity, as that of a
cardinal.
2. The top, or uppermost part; the
chief.
Thou art the cap of all the fools
alive.
Shak.
3. A respectful uncovering of the
head.
He that will give a cap and make a leg in
thanks.
Fuller.
4. (Zoöl.) The whole top of
the head of a bird from the base of the bill to the nape of the
neck.
5. Anything resembling a cap in form,
position, or use; as: (a) (Arch.)
The uppermost of any assemblage of parts; as, the cap
of column, door, etc.; a capital, coping, cornice, lintel, or
plate. (b) Something covering the top
or end of a thing for protection or ornament.
(c) (Naut.) A collar of iron or wood
used in joining spars, as the mast and the topmast, the bowsprit
and the jib boom; also, a covering of tarred canvas at the end of
a rope. (d) A percussion cap. See
under Percussion. (e) (Mech.)
The removable cover of a journal box.
(f) (Geom.) A portion of a spherical
or other convex surface.
6. A large size of writing paper; as,
flat cap; foolscap; legal cap.
Cap of a cannon, a piece of lead laid
over the vent to keep the priming dry; -- now called an
apron. -- Cap in hand,
obsequiously; submissively. -- Cap of
liberty. See Liberty cap, under
Liberty. -- Cap of maintenance,
a cap of state carried before the kings of England at the
coronation. It is also carried before the mayors of some
cities. -- Cap money, money collected
in a cap for the huntsman at the death of the fox. --
Cap paper. (a) A kind of
writing paper including flat cap, foolscap, and legal cap.
(b) A coarse wrapping paper used for making
caps to hold commodities. -- Cap rock
(Mining), The layer of rock next overlying ore,
generally of barren vein material. -- Flat
cap, cap See Foolscap. --
Forage cap, the cloth undress head covering
of an officer of soldier. -- Legal cap,
a kind of folio writing paper, made for the use of lawyers,
in long narrow sheets which have the fold at the top or "narrow
edge." -- To set one's cap, to make a
fool of one. (Obs.) Chaucer. -- To set one's
cap for, to try to win the favor of a man with a
view to marriage. [Colloq.]
Cap (?), v. t. [imp. & p.
p. Capped (?); p. pr. & vb.
n. Capping.] 1. To cover
with a cap, or as with a cap; to provide with a cap or cover; to
cover the top or end of; to place a cap upon the proper part of;
as, to cap a post; to cap a gun.
The bones next the joint are capped with a
smooth cartilaginous substance.
Derham.
2. To deprive of cap. [Obs.]
Spenser.
3. To complete; to crown; to bring to the
highest point or consummation; as, to cap the climax of
absurdity.
4. To salute by removing the cap.
[Slang. Eng.]
Tom . . . capped the proctor with the
profoundest of bows.
Thackeray.
5. To match; to mate in contest; to
furnish a complement to; as, to cap text; to cap
proverbs. Shak.
Now I have him under girdle I'll cap verses
with him to the end of the chapter.
Dryden.
☞ In capping verses, when one quotes a verse
another must cap it by quoting one beginning with the last
letter of the first letter, or with the first letter of the last
word, or ending with a rhyming word, or by applying any other
arbitrary rule may be agreed upon.
Cap, v. i. To uncover the head
respectfully. Shak.