capisce

English

Alternative forms

Etymology

Borrowed from Italian capisce, the third-person singular present indicative form of capire (“to understand”), through Vulgar Latin *capīre from Latin capere (“to grasp, seize”), from Proto-Italic *kapiō, from Proto-Indo-European *kh₂pyéti, from the root *keh₂p- (“to grab, to seize”).

Pronunciation

Interjection

capisce?

  1. (slang) “Get it?”; “understood?”.
    • 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: [silence]
      Brodka: Well, do you understand?
      Bart: Everything except “capisce.”
    • 1996, Andy and Larry Wachowski, Bound, Dino De Laurentiis Productions and Spelling Films:
      Gino Marzzone: You gotta start respecting Johnny, the way you respect me. Capisce?
    • 1997, Eric Bogosian, Notes from Underground, page 138:
      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?
    • 2003, Richard Chiappone, Water of an Undetermined Depth:
      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?

Usage notes

  • Often used in a threatening manner, in imitation of the way the Italian Mafia is often portrayed in popular culture and entertainment media.
  • Without a question mark at the end, it is sometimes used to mean, “I understand”, as an American colloquialism. In Italian, that would actually mean “he/she/it understands” or a formal “you understand”. To mean “I understand”, one would actually say capisco.

Translations

Anagrams

Italian

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /kaˈpiʃ.ʃe/

Verb

capisce

  1. third-person singular present indicative of capire
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