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.