Dictionary entry

Capon

Webster's Dictionary 1913

Ca″pon (kā″p'n or kā″pŭn; 277), n. [OE. capon, chapoun, AS. capūn (cf. F. chapon), L. capo, fr. Gr. κάπων akin to κόπτειν to cut, OSlav. skopiti to castrate. Cf. Comma.] A castrated cock, esp. when fattened; a male chicken gelded to improve his flesh for the table. Shak.

The merry thought of a capon.

W. Irving.