LATIN DICTIONARYLexicon Latīnum
noun · masculinesecond declension

capillus

capillus m (genitive capillī)
Classical[kaˈpɪl.lʊs]Ecclesiastical[kaˈpil.lus]
Mille Verba core vocabulary

Meaning

  1. masculinea single hair
  2. masculinehair (plurally)
  3. masculinea head of hair: locks, tresses
    odōrātīs humerōs perfūsa capillīswith perfumed tresses overflowing her shoulders8 CE, Ovidius, Fasti 2.309

Latīnē defined in Latin in our graded readers

quod in capite crēscit; capillī iuvenum dēnsī sunt.
capillus -ī m — in Mille Verba, Corpus Hūmānum

Choosing the right word Döderlein's Latin Synonyms

Crinis · Capillus · Coma · Cæsaries · Pilus · Cirrus · Cincinnus

1. Crinis and capillus denote the natural hair merely in a physical sense, like θρίξ; crinis (from κάρηνον), any growth of hair, in opposition to the parts on which hair does not grow; capillus (from caput), only the hair of the head, in opp. to the beard, etc. Liv. vi. 16. Suet. Aug. 23. Cels. vi. 2. Cic. Tusc. v. 20. Rull. ii. 5; whereas in coma and cæsaries the accessory notion of beauty, as an object of sense, is involved, inasmuch as hair is a natural ornament of the body, or itself the object of ornament; coma (κόμη) is especially applicable to the hair of females; cæsaries, to that of males, like ἔθειρα. Hence crinitus means nothing more than covered with hair; capillatus is used in opp. to bald-headed, Petron. 26, and the Galli are styled comati, as wearing long hair, like καρηκομόωντες. 2. Crinis, capillus, coma, cæsaries, denote the hair in a collective sense, the whole growth of hair; whereas pilus means a single hair, and especially the short and bristly hair of animals. Hence pilosus is in opp. to the beautiful smoothness of the skin, as Cic. Pis. I; whereas crinitus and capillatus are in opp. to ugly nakedness and baldness. (iii. 14.) 3. Cirrus and cincinnus denote curled hair; cirrus (κόῤῥη) is a natural, cincinnus (κίκιννος) an artificial curl. (iii. 23.)

Declension

declension
formsingularplural
nominativecapilluscapillī
genitivecapillīcapillōrum
dativecapillōcapillīs
accusativecapillumcapillōs
ablativecapillōcapillīs
vocativecapillecapillī

Phrases from Meissner's Latin Phrase-Book

capilli horrent
his hair stands on end.
capilli compti, compositi (opp. horridi)
well-ordered, well-brushed hair.

căpillus, i, m. (căpillum, i, n., Plaut. Most. 1, 3, 97, acc to Non. p. 198, 20) [a dim. form, akin to caput and Gr. κεφαλή; lit., adj. sc. crinis].
I. Lit., the hair of the head, the hair (while crinis is any hair).
A. Collect. (hence, acc. to Varr, ap. Charis. p. 80 P. in his time used only in the sing.; but the plur is found once in Cic., and since the Aug. poets very freq.) capillus passus, prolixus, circum caput Rejectus neglegenter, Ter. Heaut. 2, 3, 49; cf. id. Phorm. 1, 2, 56: versipellis, Plaut. Pers. 2, 2, 48: compositus (or -um, acc. to Non. l. l.), id. Most. 1, 3, 97; Ter Eun. 4, 3, 4 Ruhnk.; 5, 2, 21: compositus et delibutus, Cic. Rosc. Am. 46, 135: horridus, id. Sest. 8, 19: promissus, long hair, Caes. B. G. 5, 14: longus barbaque promissa, Nep. Dat. 3, 1: horrens. Tac. G. 38: ornatus, Prop. 1, 2, 1: tonsus, Ov. M. 8, 151: niger, Hor. A. P. 37: albus, id. Epod. 17, 23: albescens, id. C. 3, 14, 25: fulvus, Ov. M. 12, 273 (opp. barba): virgines tondebant barbam et capillum patris, Cic. Tusc. 5, 20, 58: capillum et barbam promisisse, Liv. 6, 16, 4; Plin. 11, 39, 94, § 231.—
B. A hair (sing. very rare): in imaginem capilli unius sat multorum, Cael. Aur. Tard. 2, 11, 29.—So plur. (freq.), Cic. Pis. 11, 25; Prop. 1, 15, 11; 3 (4), 6, 9; Hor. C. 1, 12, 41; 1, 29, 7; 2, 11, 15; 3, 20, 14; Quint. 8, 2, 7; 11, 3, 160 (in Ov. M. alone more than fifty times).—
II. Transf.
A. The hair of men gen., both of the head and beard: Dionysius cultros metuens tonsorios, candente carbone sibi adurebat capillum, Cic. Off. 2, 7, 25 Beier (cf. id. Tusc. 5, 20, 58: ut barbam et capillum sibi adurerent): ex barbā capillos detonsos neglegimus, Sen. Ep. 92, 34; Suet. Ner. 1.—
B. The hair of animals: cuniculi, Cat. 25, 1: apum, Col. 9, 10, 1; Pall. Jun. 7, 7: haedi, Gell. 12, 1, 15: membranae, Pers. 3, 10; cf. Macr. S. 5, 11.—
C. The threads or fibres of plants, Phn. 21, 6, 17, § 33: capillus in rosā, id. 21, 18, 73, § 121; hence, capillus Veneris, a plant, also called herba capillaris, maidenhair, App. Herb. 47.

Origins

Uncertain. Apparently some diminutive form from the root of caput (“head”). Possibly cognate with Persian کوپله (kuple, “hair of head”) or کوبله (kôbale).

Elsewhere
  • Catalancabell
  • Frenchcheveufrom Old French cheveu
  • Italiancapello
  • Occitancabel
  • Portuguesecabelo
  • Spanishcabello
  • Dalmatiancapei
  • Franco-Provençalchevél
  • Bourguignoncheveufrom Old French cheveu
  • Lorraintchavoufrom Old French cheveu
Gallo-Italic
  • Emiliancavail
  • Romagnolcavèl

In English words that came into English from capillus

  • capillarycapillāris
  • capilliformcapillus
  • blackcapātricapillus
  • capillaturecapillatura
  • capillamentcapillamentum

Quick answers

What does capillus mean in Latin?
capillus, a noun, means “a single hair; hair (plurally); a head of hair: locks, tresses”.
What is the genitive of capillus?
The genitive singular is capillī. capillus is masculine, second declension.
How do you pronounce capillus?
In classical Latin, [kaˈpɪl.lʊs]; in ecclesiastical (church) Latin, [kaˈpil.lus].
Which English words come from capillus?
English words that go back to Latin capillus include capilliform, capillary, blackcap, capillature and capillament.