Talk:cap

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Rfv-sense: abbreviation of capture. DCDuring TALK 18:40, 1 May 2009 (UTC)

In (deprecated template usage) screencap and (deprecated template usage) vidcap, yes. Alone, I am not so sure. Equinox ◑ 20:48, 2 May 2009 (UTC)

Deleted. Equinox ◑ 01:00, 5 October 2009 (UTC)

Polish

The Polish etymology is h a i r r a i s i n g !!2A02:8108:9640:AC3:E53B:B5C1:DA9:85B5 06:30, 5 July 2020 (UTC)

Origin of "cap" meaning "lie"

We really owe our readers an explanation of the origin of "cap" meaning "to lie." Putting it in the etymology section meaning "hat," with no further explanation of the origin of this usage, doesn't do this. 204.11.189.94 17:32, 25 April 2024 (UTC)

My feeling is that it's related to the verb sense 6, 'to make something even more wonderful at the end'. If you lie by making an exaggerated claim to outdo someone in a verbal battle then that explains the semantic shift. For example, if you said "I can run a mile in 5 minutes" and I responded by saying "That's nothing, I can run a mile in a minute" then I would be 'capping' and what I said would be a 'cap'. Overlordnat1 (talk) 06:41, 26 April 2024 (UTC)

The New Oxford American English Dictionary (2023) says that "cap" meaning to lie/exaggerate dates back to the late 1800s, perhaps in African American communities:

cap² | kap | US English informal
noun
(especially in African American usage) untrue or exaggerated talk or writing: he responded to the rumors by telling the critics and trolls to “stop the cap”.
verb (caps, capping, capped) [no object]
(especially in African American usage) speak in an untruthful or exaggerating way; lie or exaggerate: does she really have a tape with him or is she just capping for cash? | I feel like the people posting these ain't capping.
• (cap on) speak insultingly to someone; insult: don't try to cap on me.
PHRASES
no cap US English informal
used to assert that something is true or not exaggerated: that's impressive man, no cap.
ORIGIN
late 19th century (as verb in sense ‘praise or promote’): probably a use of cap¹.

(Green's Dictionary of Slang has more usages, the earliest of which dates to 1902, which is close enough to the NOAD's "late 19th century".

I agree with 204.11.189.94. It might be worth separating this sense of cap into its own etymology section, like how the NOAD separates it into its own entry. The etymology should cite both the NOAD and Green's Dictionary of Slang. We should also update the etymology of no cap with the NOAD's dating. Samppi111 (talk) 01:45, 28 June 2024 (UTC)

There seems to be a clear semantic shift from verb sense 3 to senses 4 and 6 to sense 9 (the AAVE term, originally, though it’s now in far more general use as youth slang). I’m not sure it warrants a separate etymology section as it’s not from a different root but we could certainly add an explanation and references to our entry. We could also add the GDS sense of ‘dumbfound’ too, though I’m not sure what the etymology is of that (perhaps it’s similar, if you ‘cap’ someone in a verbal battle then you’ve not just defeated them but defeated them so thoroughly that they can’t think of any response, never mind a good one, so they’re dumbfounded. Overlordnat1 (talk) 06:32, 28 June 2024 (UTC)