What does “Hauptstadt” mean in German?

A capital in German is a Hauptstadt, and the first half is the key. Haupt is an old word for “head,” cousin to English head and Latin caput — so a capital is quite literally the country’s head-city. That Haupt- slots onto almost anything to mean “main” or “chief,” turning a plain noun into the most important one of its kind.

Collect the family and dozens of words fall into place: Hauptbahnhof (main station), Hauptstraße (main street), Hauptgericht (main course), Hauptrolle (lead role). Everyday German quietly retired Haupt as the word for a literal head — that job went to Kopf — and kept it alive as this handy “main/chief” building block.