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Fowler called this 'rare in British use, and might well be rarer'. Despite this disapproval (see lost causes), it is now a common word on both sides of the Atlantic, meaning (1) a title below an illustration and (2) a heading to a newspaper article or book chapter. Despite this meaning, it comes from Latin capio 'to take', and has no direct connection with Latin caput, 'head'.

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Word, phrase, or sentence positioned above an illustration or photograph that describes, identifies, or clarifies the illustration or photograph. If this textual matter is found beneath the illustration or photograph, it is properly called a legend, although in common usage both are called a caption. Captions may also be used as advertisement headings or chapter, section, and page headings in a book. The word originates from the Latin caput, meaning "head" or "top."

n

Definition: heading
Antonyms: subheading

Caption (formerly cutline), one or more sentences of text intended to elucidate a published photograph. Basic information about a picture's content supplied by the photographer or agency will usually be tailored by the editor to a publication's viewpoint or house style. In newspapers the caption is usually positioned directly beneath the image (which may have a heading above it); in magazines or other publications it may be elsewhere on the same page, or opposite, or superimposed on the picture itself.

Phrases such as ‘the camera never lies’ or ‘a picture is worth a thousand words’ give a misleading idea of the relationship between text and image. The meaning of a photograph is rarely self-evident, and an editor can never precisely anticipate the viewer's degree of sophistication or background knowledge, or sense of humour or irony. The recaptioning of news photographs by satirical papers like Private Eye is a constant reminder of how meaning can be subverted. Ideally, a caption should identify key figures shown in a picture and, in Harold Evans's words, indicate the ‘what-why-where-when’ of the event shown. Thus a caption accompanying an image of distraught villagers might read: ‘Peasants at Camporeale beg for bread from the relief columns after the Sicilian earthquake that killed 300 in their beds and led at least another 80, 000 to flee the area in search of safety.’ But occasionally an image may be so lyrical, moving, or horrific that it can be allowed to ‘speak for itself’, above all in circumstances likely to be wholly familiar to the viewer: for example, crowds watching the funeral of Diana, princess of Wales, or the collapse of the World Trade Center.

— Amanda Hopkinson/Robin Lenman

Bibliography

• Evans, H., Pictures on a Page: Photo-Journalism, Graphics and Picture Editing (1978).
• Scott, C., The Spoken Image: Photography and Language (1999)

This entry contains information applicable to United States law only.

The standardized heading of a legal instrument, such as a motion or a complaint, which sets forth the names of the parties in controversy, the name of the court, the docket number, and the name of the action.

IN BRIEF: A title at the head of an article or below a picture.

There was a descriptive caption beneath each picture.

LearnThatWord.com is a free vocabulary and spelling program where you only pay for results!

For a list of words related to caption, see:

• Publishing - caption: description under illustration or photograph
• Journalism - caption: description under illustration or photograph

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See words rhyming with "caption."

  See crossword solutions for the clue Caption.

This entry is from Wikipedia, the leading user-contributed encyclopedia. It may not have been reviewed by professional editors (see full disclaimer)

Dansk (Danish)
n. - overskrift, billedtekst, undertekst, juridisk attestation på dokument
v. tr. - sætte overskrift på

Nederlands (Dutch)
onderschrift, titel, opschrift, certificaat, voorzien van certificaat/ opschrift etc.

Français (French)
n. - (Journ) légende (accompagnant), (TV, Cin) sous-titre, (Jur) mention en tête d'acte de l'origine, du lieu et de la date
v. tr. - mettre comme légende, avoir pour légende, (Cin, TV) sous-titrer (film)

Deutsch (German)
n. - Untertitel, Titel, Überschrift
v. - mit (Unter)titel bzw. Überschrift versehen

Ελληνική (Greek)
n. - λεζάντα εικόνας, υπότιτλος ταινίας, (τυπογρ.) κεφαλίδα, υπέρτιτλος
v. - γράφω σε λεζάντα, υποτιτλίζω

Italiano (Italian)
didascalia, titolo

Português (Portuguese)
n. - título (m), epígrafe (f), legenda (f)

Русский (Russian)
подпись к рисунку/снимку, титр

Español (Spanish)
n. - leyenda, título, epígrafe, titular, captura, prisión
v. tr. - poner leyenda, título, epígrafe o titular, capturar, enviar a prisión

Svenska (Swedish)
n. - rubrik, filmtitel, ingress, häktning
v. - förse med rubrik, rubricera

中文（简体）(Chinese (Simplified))
标题, 字幕, 说明, 加上标题, 加上说明

中文（繁體）(Chinese (Traditional))
n. - 標題, 字幕, 說明
v. tr. - 加上標題, 加上說明

한국어 (Korean)
n. - 표제, 자막, 전문
v. tr. - 자막을 넣다, 제목을 붙이다

日本語 (Japanese)
n. - 表題, 説明文, 字幕

العربيه (Arabic)
‏(الاسم) تعليق على صورة منشورة, عنوان لمقاله (فعل) يعنون, يعلق, يشرح‏

עברית (Hebrew)
n. - ‮כותרת, מלות-הסבר, מסמך מאשר‬
v. tr. - ‮שם כותרת‬

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