capisce
Part of speech: intj
verb
Morphological type: simple
Etymology: Unadapted borrowing from the spoken Neapolitan and Sicilian equivalents of either of the following:
* Italian capisce (literally “he, she, etc., understands”), the third-person singular present indicative form; or
* capisci (literally “you understand”) (possibly with the final vowel dropped or reduced in informal speech), the second-person singular present indicative form;
of capire (“to understand”), from Latin capere, the present active infinitive of capiō (“to capture, catch, seize; to comprehend, understand; etc.”), ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *kap- (“to grab, seize; to hold”).
Inflected forms:
form: capeesh
pos: intj
tags: alternative
form: capiche
pos: intj
tags: alternative
form: capisch
pos: intj
tags: alternative
form: capische
pos: intj
tags: alternative
form: capishe
pos: intj
tags: alternative
form: coppish
pos: intj
tags: alternative
form: kabish
pos: intj
tags: alternative
form: capisces
pos: verb
tags: present
singular
third-person
form: capiscing
pos: verb
tags: participle
present
form: capisced
pos: verb
tags: participle
past
form: capisced
pos: verb
tags: past
form: capeesh
pos: verb
tags: alternative
form: capiche
pos: verb
tags: alternative
form: capisch
pos: verb
tags: alternative
form: capische
pos: verb
tags: alternative
form: capishe
pos: verb
tags: alternative
form: coppish
pos: verb
tags: alternative
form: kabish
pos: verb
tags: alternative
Senses:
gloss: Used by a listener to confirm that they have understood something said to them: I got it, I heard you, I understand.
pos: intj
tags: US
slang
examples: "I have a niece." / "No children?" / "Not married." / "What is the problem?" / "I'm single. No wife, no kids. No problem." / "Capisce." / "Yeah, capisce."
"It’s simple. Here's the rules: One of us says 'Never Have I Ever' and finishes the sentence. If you've done whatever the thing is, you drink. Yeah?" / "Capisce." I salute and he laughs.
"I just want the father to be around. So you have to return home safe. Capisce?" / "Yeah, capisce."
gloss: Used by a speaker to confirm that the listener has understood something said to the latter: did you hear me?, get it?, understood?
pos: intj
tags: US
offensive
slang
sometimes
examples: It's very simple, George, you forget about this whole licensing lawsuit pipe dream of yours or you can forget about your buddy working in my factory for the next couple of years. I will be that angry. Capiche?
Detective Brodka: Hey kid, one more thing: if you ever set foot in this store again, you'll be spending Christmas in juvenile hall! Capisce? / Bart: [silently stares in confusion] / Brodka: Well, do you understand? / Bart: Everything except "capisce."
You gotta start respecting Johnny, the way you respect me. Capisce?
I mean, if you were coming into the plant for the long haul, God forbid, then you'd have to think seriously about the money. Capiche?
That being said, if you hurt my boy I will introduce you to a whole new realm of pain and suffering. We're talking stuff that would make Heironymous Bosch^([sic – meaning Hieronymous]) shit his britches, capisce?
Tape, the Shifty Sticker: And you, origami kid… Be a good goil and run back to Olly. It's past your beddy-bye time, capisce?
gloss: To understand (someone or something).
pos: verb
tags: US
slang
transitive
examples: "I need at least a B-plus, and no one—I repeat, NO ONE—can know that I didn't write it. This paper is vitally important to my future. Do you capisce what I'm saying to you? Very important." / We grumbled our understanding into the phone. "Yeah, yeah, we capisce," Ellie said.
"Nothing they say would stop me from thinking you're the greatest, smartest, bravest little girl in the whole world. Do you capisce me?" / "I capisce you," she nodded and her big eyes blinked back tears.
gloss: To understand.
pos: verb
tags: US
intransitive
slang
examples: "Shoo, shoo, shoo, go help Pierfranco. He'll be bringing up heavy baskets, capisce?" I certainly capisced.
"I'm just saying. Because I don't know if you ladies got a brownshirt vibe off those dudes like I did, but I've got two grandparents who would smack me sideways if I didn't say this. The others died in a concentration camp. Capisce?” / Bronca capisces, nodding slowly in grim agreement. Because, well. She grew up missing a few elders, too—and contemporaries, for that matter.
Translations: