Caput \Ca"put\ (k[=a]"p[u^]t), n.; pl. Capita (k[a^]p"[i^]*t[.a]). [L., the head.]

1. (Anat.) The head; also, a knoblike protuberance or capitulum.

2. The top or superior part of a thing.

3. (Eng.) The council or ruling body of the University of Cambridge prior to the constitution of 1856.

Your caputs and heads of colleges. --Lamb.

Caput mortuum. [L., dead head.]

(Old Chem.) The residuum after distillation or sublimation; hence, worthless residue.

Source: Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913)