Caput or kaput?
caput is a noun meaning “The head”; kaput is an adjective meaning “Out of order; not working”. Use caput as a noun and kaput as an adjective. They sound the same (/kəˈpʊt/). In written English (wordfreq, 2021 data) kaput is about as common as caput.
What is the difference between caput and kaput?
| caput | kaput | |
|---|---|---|
| Part of speech | noun | adjective |
| Meaning | The head A knob-like protuberance or capitulum | informalOut of order; not working |
| Example | none recorded | My car went kaput |
| Forms | caputs, capita | none |
| Pronunciation | /kəˈpʊt/ /ˈkæp.ət/ | /kəˈpʊt/ /kəˈpɵt/ |
| In writing | about once in every 8 million words | about once in every 7 million words |
Sources: caput and kaput in the English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0); written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
Every current meaning of caput and kaput
caput
- 1
The head
- 2
A knob-like protuberance or capitulum
- 3
The top or superior part of a thing
- 4
UKThe council or ruling body of the University of Cambridge prior to the constitution of 1856
- 5
colloquialEllipsis of caput succedaneum
kaput
- 1
informalOut of order; not working
My car went kaput
Source: the English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0); obsolete, archaic, dialect and rare senses left out.
Which is more common, caput or kaput?
caput appears about once in every 8 million words; kaput about once in every 7 million words.
caput about once in every 8 million wordskaput about once in every 7 million words
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How many people search caput vs kaput?
“caput vs kaput” is searched about 20 times a month on Google and 10 on Bing in the United States. Google counts close variants of a query together (“kaput vs caput”, “caput or kaput”).
Sources: Google Ads keyword data through DataForSEO and Microsoft Advertising keyword data through DataForSEO, the average month from September 2025 to August 2026.