capisce

Meanings

1. Used by a listener to confirm that they have understood something said to them: I got it, I heard you, I understand.
2. Used by a speaker to confirm that the listener has understood something said to the latter: did you hear me?, get it?, understood?

1. To understand (someone or something).
2. To understand.

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”).