capoun

Middle English

Alternative forms

• capen, capon, chapon, chapoun, kapoun
• capun (Early Middle English)
• capwn, kapon (Late Middle English)

Etymology

Inherited from Old English capūn, from Old Northern French capon, from Latin capo (Late Latin *cappo).

Forms with /t͡ʃ-/ are readjusted after central Old French chapon.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /kaˈpuːn/, /ˈkapun/, /ˈkapən/, /t͡ʃ-/
• IPA^(key): /ˈkaːpun/, /ˈkaːpən/, /t͡ʃ-/ (possibly with early stress shift allowing open-syllable lengthening)

Noun

capoun (plural capouns)

1. A capon; a cooked, castrated cockerel.
2. (rare) A eunuch; a castrated human.

Descendants

• English: capon
• Middle Scots: capon, capoun

References

• “cāpǒun, n.”, in MED Online, Ann Arbor, Mich.: University of Michigan, 2007, retrieved 18 July 2018.