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capital

noun
/ˈkæpɪtəl/UK/ˈkʰæp.ɪ.ɾɫ̩/US

Etymology

From Middle English capital, borrowed partly from Old French capital and partly from Latin capitālis (“of the head”) (in sense “head of cattle”), from caput (“head”) (English cap) + -ālis (suffix forming adjectives). Use in trade and finance originated in Medieval economies when a common but expensive transaction involved trading heads of cattle. The noun is from the adjective. In the fourth sense, displaced native Old English hēafodburg, equivalent to head + borough (“city”). Compare chattel and kith and kine (“all one’s possessions”), which also use “cow” to mean “property”. Doublet of cattle and chattel.

  1. derived from capitulum — “head-like object or structure; chapter”
  2. derived from capitellum — “capital or chapiter of a column”
  3. derived from capital
  4. inherited from capitale

Definitions

  1. Money and wealth

    Money and wealth: the means to acquire goods and services, especially in a non-barter system.

    • Near-synonym: assets
    • He does not have enough capital to start a business.

  2. Already-produced durable goods available for use as a factor of production, such as tools…

    Already-produced durable goods available for use as a factor of production, such as tools and bulldozers (equipment) and office buildings (structures).

    • Near-synonym: assets
    • He pointed out that it takes both labour and capital to produce goods.

  3. The capitalist class

    The capitalist class; investors considered collectively with respect to their societal (economic, political, cultural, etc.) influence.

    • The markets crashing symbolized capital’s discontent with the tax reforms passed.
    • He warned us darkly that capital will never be sated.
  4. ›+ 15 more definitions

    1. A city designated as a legislative seat by the government or some other authority, often…

      A city designated as a legislative seat by the government or some other authority, often the city in which the government is located; otherwise the most important city within a country or a subdivision of it.

      • Washington D.C. is the capital of the United States of America.
      • The Welsh government claims that Cardiff is Europe’s youngest capital.
      • Lin Hsiang-ju immediately said to the king of Ch’in, “If Ta-wang wants fifteen cities from Chao, the king of Chao should also get something in return. What about giving him Hsien-yang as a gift?’ Hsien-yang was the capital of Ch’in.

    2. The most important city in the field specified.

      • Hollywood is the film capital, New York the theater capital, Las Vegas the gambling capital.

    3. An uppercase letter.

    4. Knowledge

      Knowledge; awareness; proficiency.

      • Interpreters need a good amount of cultural capital in order to function efficiently in the profession.

    5. The chief or most important thing.

    6. Of prime importance.

      • a capital article in religion
      • whatever is capital and essential in Christianity

    7. Chief (in a political sense, as being the seat of the general government of a state or…

      Chief (in a political sense, as being the seat of the general government of a state or nation).

      • London and Paris are capital cities.

    8. Excellent.

      • That is a capital idea!
      • “He is a capital fellow,” the Englishman in London had said, “and he has got an awfully pretty wife. […]”
      • Sometimes he laughed heartily as if he heard some capital joke; by degrees this lessened, and he spoke rapidly, but in very low tones.

    9. Punishable by, or involving punishment by, death.

      • capital punishment; capital murder
      • Neither could the Legiſlature in any thing more conſult the Publick Good, than by providing ſome effectual Remedy againſt this Evil, which in ſeveral Caſes deſerves greater Puniſhment than many Crimes that are capital among us.
      • to put to death a capital offender

    10. Uppercase.

      • One begins a sentence with a capital letter.

    11. Of or relating to the head.

      • Needs must the Serpent now his capital bruise / Expect with mortal pain.

    12. used as an expression of approval, satisfaction, or delight.

      • That's an amazing idea! Capital!
      • "Capital! And I shall soon get a bonus."

    13. The uppermost part of a column.

    14. The Capital Airlines, which operated as a trunk carrier in the United States before…

      The Capital Airlines, which operated as a trunk carrier in the United States before merging with United Airlines in 1961.

      • Fornasero had been a pilot for almost 19 years and joined Capital in 1941. He spent three years as a pilot for the Air Force during World War II and then rejoined the airline.

    15. A governorate in northern Bahrain.

The neighborhood

Derived

anticapital, biocapital, block capital, block capitals, capital account, capital adequacy, capital appreciation bond, capital asset, capital budgeting, capital city, capital control, capital crime, capitaldom, capitaled, capital equipment, capital expenditure, capital expense, capital flight, capital gain, capital gains tax, capital-G gamer, capital good, capital goods, capital grant, capital-intensive, capital intensive, capital investment, capitalism, capitalistic, capitalitis, capitalize, capital letter, capital loss, capitally, capital market, capital market line, capital messuage, capital murder, capitalness, capital offence · +46 more

Vish — recursive loop

No curated loop yet for capital. Loops are being traced one word at a time while the ingestion pipeline matures.

sense glosses and etymology drawn from English Wiktionary · source · CC-BY-SA