caption

Etymology

Borrowed from Latin captiō (“deception, fraud”), from the past participle of capiō (“I take, I seize”) (English capture). Compare Middle English capcioun (“seizure, capture”).

noun

1. (typography) The descriptive heading or title, of a document or part thereof.
2. 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. 1964 September, “New Books: The History of Railways. By Erwin Berghaus. Barrie & Rockcliff. 35s.”, in Modern Railways, page 222
3. (cinematography, television) 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.
4. (law) 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.
5. (obsolete, law) 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.

verb

1. To add captions to a text or illustration.
   Only once the drawing is done will the letterer caption it.
2. To add captions to a film or broadcast.