late 14c., "state of being a prisoner," Old French *captivite or directly from Latin captivitatem (nominative captivitas), from captivus "caught, taken prisoner," from captus, past participle of capere "to take, hold, seize" (from PIE root *kap- "to grasp"). An Old English cognate word for it was gehæftnes (see haft). Figurative sense "subjection, bondage, servitude" is from 1530s.
