capere

to fit, to be contained

verb KAH-peh-reh Rare

Origin: From Latin capere, 'to hold, to contain'.

Also means

to grasp, to understand (archaic)

Usage Note

Capere is a rare, defective, and largely literary or archaic verb meaning 'to fit inside a space' — non ci cape means 'it doesn't fit in there'. In modern spoken Italian it has been almost entirely replaced by entrare ('to fit/enter') and capire ('to understand'). You may encounter it in classic texts or regional speech.

Examples

"Tutta la famiglia non ci cape in quella stanza."

Natural Translation

The whole family doesn't fit in that room.

Literal Translation

To-us doesn't-fit in that room

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