Cap"tion (?), n. [L. captio, fr. caper to take. In senses 3 and 4, perhaps confounded in meaning with L. caput a head. See Capacious.]
1.
A caviling; a sophism.
[Obs.]
This doctrine is for caption and contradiction.
Bacon.
2.
The act of taking or arresting a person by judicial process.
[R.]
Bouvier.
3. Law
That part of a legal instrument, as a commission, indictment, etc., which shows where, when, and by what authority, it taken, found, or executed.
Bouvier. Wharton.
4.
The heading of a chapter, section, or page.
[U. S.]
© Webster 1913.