Stroud.
"_To captivate._"--Moore, in his Journal, speaking of the Americans
(January 9th, 1819), says:
"They sometimes, I see, use the word _captivate_ thus: 'Five or six
ships captivated,' 'Five or six ships captivated.'"
Originally, the words _to captivate_ were synonymous with _to capture_, and
the expression was used with reference to warlike operations. To captivate
the affections was a secondary use of the phrase. The word is used in the
original sense in many old English books. It is not used so now in the
United States.