Posted by
Morgan on
Nov 14, 2022 in
Spanish, True Spanish Etymology Stories
The Spanish Acatar (meaning “to follow, obey, respect”) comes from the Latin captare, meaning “to capture, take hold of”. From that root, we get a few English words, including:
- Capture — surprise, surprise.
- Capable — if you’re capable, you take hold of the solutions!
- Captive — if you’re captive, someone else has taken hold of you!
- Cater — the caterer is literally the person who takes hold of the food for you.
The c-℗t root is visible in all, although the ‑p- in the ‑pt- has been lost in a few variations.