Cut off or removed the head from a person or animal.
From Latin 'de-' (off) and 'caput' (head). Appears in English from the 16th century and has retained its literal and metaphorical meanings of removing leadership or the top of something.
The Latin root 'caput' meaning head also gives us words like 'captain,' 'capital,' and 'chapter'—all meanings that flow from the idea of the head being first or most important.
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