capsize means The act of, or occurrence of capsizing or overturning. Lexicurio rates it Rare gem — a strength score of 83 out of 100.
Why this word is great
CAPSIZE — [Verb] To overturn a boat or ship completely in the water. Its etymology drifts in murky seas; origin unknown, first attested 1788, possibly from Spanish *capuzar* or *chapuzar*, meaning 'to sink by the head.' Unlike 'keel over' (which can befall a fainting man as readily as a skiff) or 'overturn' (a bland, terrestrial term for any upturned cart or table), 'capsize' is a word of pure, nautical calamity. It is the sickening, irrevocable pivot from vessel to wreck; the sudden eclipse of sun by the green, cold underbelly of the sea; and the terrible, silent geometry of a mast pointing down into the dark. A world inverted by a single, perfect pivot, where the dividing line between buoyancy and oblivion is terrifyingly thin.
noun
- The act of, or occurrence of capsizing or overturning.
verb
- To overturn.“Baby, I think I'm capsizing / The waves are rising and rising”
- To cause (a ship) to overturn.“But what if carrying sail capsize the boat?”
- To deform under stress.“There are even cases where a totally different knot may result when carelessly pulled. Tie the Granny Knot around any object and pull one end, and it will capsize into Two Half Hitches.”