caption
noun
- lines of text used to explain or elaborate an illustration, figure, table, or photograph
verb
- add text to pictures, subtitle
Wiktionary
Pronunciation: /ˈkæp.ʃən/
noun
Etymology: Borrowed from Latin captiō (“deception, fraud”), from the past participle of capiō (“to take, to seize”) (English capture). Compare Middle English capcioun (“seizure, capture”).
- The descriptive heading or title, of a document or part thereof.
- A title or brief explanation attached to an illustration, cartoon, user interface element, etc.
“Some of the photographs are new and interesting, but many captions are amateurish, uninformative or simply careless.”
- A piece of text appearing on screen as a subtitle or other part of a film or broadcast, describing dialogue (and sometimes other sound) for viewers who cannot hear.
“(theater, performance production) By analogy, text in a similar system used in a performance venue for transcription of a live event.”
- The section on an official paper (for example, as part of a seizure or capture) that describes when, where, and what was taken, found or executed, and who authorized the act.
- A seizure or capture, especially of tangible property (chattel).
“1919 Thomas Welburn Hughes. A treatise on criminal law and procedure. The Bobbs-Merril Co., Indianapolis, IN, USA. Sec. 557 (p. 378). The caption and asportation must be felonious.”
- A story that is embedded in a pre-existing image (sometimes with image manipulation)
verb
Etymology: Borrowed from Latin captiō (“deception, fraud”), from the past participle of capiō (“to take, to seize”) (English capture). Compare Middle English capcioun (“seizure, capture”).
- To add captions to a text or illustration.
“Only once the drawing is done will the letterer caption it.”
- To add captions to a film or broadcast.