. In DICTIOUS you will not only get to know all the dictionary meanings for the word
, but we will also tell you about its etymology, its characteristics and you will know how to say
in singular and plural. Everything you need to know about the word
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will help you to be more precise and correct when speaking or writing your texts. Knowing the definition of
, as well as those of other words, enriches your vocabulary and provides you with more and better linguistic resources.
English
Alternative forms
Pronunciation
Etymology 1
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.
Compare chattel and kith and kine ( “ all one’s possessions ” ) , which also use “cow” to mean “property”.
Doublet of cattle and chattel .
Noun
capital (countable and uncountable , plural capitals )
( uncountable , economics ) Already-produced durable goods available for use as a factor of production , such as steam shovels (equipment) and office buildings (structures).
( uncountable , business , finance , insurance ) Money and wealth . The means to acquire goods and services , especially in a non-barter system.
He does not have enough capital to start a business.
( countable ) 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.
1995 , Linda Fang, The Chʻi-lin Purse: A Collection of Ancient Chinese Stories , New York : Farrar Straus Giroux , →ISBN , →LCCN , →OCLC , →OL , page 54 :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.
2013 June 8, “The new masters and commanders ”, in The Economist , volume 407 , number 8839 , page 52 :From the ground, Colombo’s port does not look like much. [ …] But viewed from high up in one of the growing number of skyscrapers in Sri Lanka’s capital , it is clear that something extraordinary is happening: China is creating a shipping hub just 200 miles from India’s southern tip.
Washington D.C. is the capital of the United States of America.
The Welsh government claims that Cardiff is Europe’s youngest capital .
( countable ) The most important city in the field specified.
2010 September, Charlie Brennan, "Active Athletes", St. Louis magazine , ISSN 1090-5723, volume 16, issue 9, page 83:
Hollywood is the film capital , New York the theater capital , Las Vegas the gambling capital .
( countable ) An uppercase letter .
( uncountable ) Knowledge ; awareness ; proficiency .
Interpreters need a good amount of cultural capital in order to function efficiently in the profession.
( countable , by extension) The chief or most important thing.
Usage notes
The homophone capitol refers only to a building , usually one that houses the legislative branch of a government, and often one located in a capital city.
Synonyms
Antonyms
(antonym(s) of "An uppercase letter" ): minuscule
Translations
money and wealth
Afrikaans: kapitaal (af)
Albanian: kapital (sq) f
Apache:
Western Apache: haago zhaali nadehí bigozʼąąyú
Arabic: رَأْسْمَال (ar) m ( raʔsmāl ) , رَأْس مَال m ( raʔs māl )
Egyptian Arabic: راس المال m ( rās el-māl )
Armenian: կապիտալ (hy) ( kapital )
Assamese: মূলধন ? ( mulodhon )
Azerbaijani: sərmayə , maya (az) , kapital
Belarusian: капіта́л m ( kapitál ) , бага́цце (be) n ( baháccje )
Bengali: পুঁজি (bn) ( pũji )
Bulgarian: капита́л (bg) m ( kapitál )
Burmese: အရင်း (my) ( a.rang: )
Catalan: capital (ca) m
Cebuano: kapital
Chinese:
Mandarin: 資本 / 资本 (zh) ( zīběn )
Czech: kapitál (cs) m
Danish: kapital c
Dutch: kapitaal (nl) n
Esperanto: kapitalo
Estonian: kapital
Finnish: pääoma (fi)
French: capital (fr) m
Galician: capital (gl) m , fondo (gl) m , fondos m pl
Georgian: კაპიტალი ( ḳaṗiṭali )
German: Kapital (de) n
Greek: κεφάλαιο (el) n ( kefálaio )
Gujarati: પૂંજી f ( pū̃jī )
Hebrew: הוֹן (he) m ( hon )
Hindi: पूंजी f ( pūñjī ) , मूलधन (hi) m ( mūldhan ) , सरमाया (hi) m ( sarmāyā ) , पूँजी (hi) f ( pūñjī ) , संपद (hi) m ( sampad )
Hungarian: tőke (hu)
Icelandic: fjármagn (is) n
Ido: kapitalo (io)
Indonesian: modal (id) , kapital (id)
Irish: caipiteal m
Italian: capitale (it) m
Japanese: 資本 (ja) ( しほん, shihon )
Kazakh: қаражат ( qarajat ) , капитал ( kapital )
Khmer: មូល (km) ( muul ) , មូលធន (km) ( muulĕəʼthŭən ) , ធន (km) ( thŭən )
Korean: 자본(資本) (ko) ( jabon )
Kyrgyz: капитал (ky) ( kapital )
Lao: ທຶນ ( thưn ) , ຕົ້ນທຶນ (lo) ( ton thưn )
Macedonian: капитал m ( kapital )
Malay: modal
Malayalam: മൂലധനം (ml) ( mūladhanaṁ )
Manx: bun-argid m
Maori: moni haupū rawa , moni haupū , pūrawa
Marathi: भांडवल n ( bhāṇḍval )
Nepali: पूँजी ( pũnji )
Norwegian:
Bokmål: kapital (no) m
Ottoman Turkish: سرمایه ( sermaye )
Persian: سرمایه (fa) ( sarmâye )
Polish: kapitał (pl) m
Portuguese: capital (pt) m
Romanian: capital (ro) n
Romansch: chapital m ( Rumantsch Grischun, Vallader ) , capital m ( Sursilvan, Sutsilvan, Surmiran ) , chapitêl m ( Puter )
Russian: капита́л (ru) m ( kapitál ) , состоя́ние (ru) n ( sostojánije ) , бога́тство (ru) n ( bogátstvo )
Scottish Gaelic: airgead-calpa m
Serbo-Croatian:
Cyrillic: капѝта̄л m
Roman: kapìtāl (sh) m
Slovak: kapitál m
Slovene: kapital (sl) m
Spanish: capital (es) m
Swahili: rasilimali (sw)
Swedish: kapital (sv) n
Tagalog: kabisera , kapital
Tajik: сармоя (tg) ( sarmoya )
Telugu: పెట్టుబడి (te) ( peṭṭubaḍi ) , సంపద (te) ( sampada )
Thai: ทุน (th) ( tun )
Turkish: anapara (tr) , anamal (tr) , sermaye (tr) , kapital (tr)
Ukrainian: капіта́л (uk) m ( kapitál ) , бага́тство (uk) n ( bahátstvo )
Urdu: سَرْمایَہ m ( sarmāyā )
Uyghur: كاپىتال ( kapital ) , دىر ( dir )
Uzbek: kapital (uz)
Vietnamese: vốn (vi) , chính (vi) , tư bản (vi)
Volapük: katäd (vo)
Welsh: cyfalaf (cy) m
Yiddish: קאַפּיטאַל n ( kapital )
Translations to be checked
Adjective
capital (not comparable )
Of prime importance .
1708 , Francis Atterbury , Fourteen Sermons Preach'd on Several Occasions , Preface:a capital article in religion
1852 , Isaac Taylor, Saturday Evening :whatever is capital and essential in Christianity
Chief, in a political sense, as being the seat of the general government of a state or nation.
London and Paris are capital cities.
( comparable , UK , dated ) Excellent.
That is a capital idea!
1878 , Henry James , An International Episode :“He is a capital fellow,” the Englishman in London had said, “and he has got an awfully pretty wife. [ …] ”
1887 , Harriet W. Daly, Digging, Squatting, and Pioneering Life in the Northern Territory of South Australia , page 166 :Sometimes he laughed heartily as if he heard some capital joke; by degrees this lessened, and he spoke rapidly, but in very low tones.
( crime ) Punishable by, or involving punishment by, death .
1709 , [Jonathan Swift ], A Project for the Advancement of Religion, and the Reformation of Manners. , London: Benj Tooke, , →OCLC , pages 53–54 :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.
2002 , Colin Jones , The Great Nation , Penguin, published 2003 , page 517 :Some 1,600 priests were deported, for example, while the total number of capital victims of the military commissions down to 1799 was only around 150.
Uppercase .
Antonym: lower-case
One begins a sentence with a capital letter.
used to emphasise greatness or absoluteness
You're a genius with a capital G!
He's dead with a capital D!
2021 February 9, Christina Newland, “Is Tom Hanks part of a dying breed of genuine movie stars?”, in BBC :In recent years, much has been made of the lack of new heavyweight male star power in mainstream Hollywood. Talented performers may be everywhere, but Movie Stars, capital M, capital S, are something else.
Of or relating to the head .
1667 , John Milton , “Book X”, in Paradise Lost. , London: [Samuel Simmons ], , →OCLC ; republished as Paradise Lost in Ten Books: , London: Basil Montagu Pickering , 1873 , →OCLC :Needs must the Serpent now his capital bruise / Expect with mortal pain.
Translations
of prime importance
Bulgarian: главен (bg) ( glaven ) , основен (bg) ( osnoven )
Catalan: capital (ca)
Chinese:
Mandarin: 主要的 (zh) ( zhǔyào de )
Dutch: hoofd- , kapitaal (nl)
Finnish: ensisijainen (fi) , pääasiallinen (fi) , pää- ( in compounds )
German: Haupt -
Greek: κεφαλαιώδης (el) ( kefalaiódis )
Ancient: κεφάλαιος ( kephálaios )
Italian: capitale (it) , principale (it)
Japanese: 主な (ja) ( おもな, omo na ) , 主要な (ja) ( しゅような, shuyō na )
Korean: 중요하다(重要) (ko) ( jung'yohada ) , 주요하다(主要) (ko) ( juyohada )
Portuguese: capital (pt) , fundamental (pt)
Russian: гла́вный (ru) ( glávnyj ) , основно́й (ru) ( osnovnój ) , капита́льный (ru) ( kapitálʹnyj )
Spanish: capital (es)
Swedish: huvudsaklig (sv)
excellent
Catalan: excel·lent (ca)
Chinese:
Mandarin: 優秀 / 优秀 (zh) ( yōuxiù )
Dutch: uitstekend (nl) , excellent (nl)
Finnish: mahtava (fi) , suurenmoinen (fi) , loistava (fi) , fantastinen (fi)
French: excellent (fr)
German: großartig (de)
Italian: ottimo (it) , magnifico (it) , eccellente (it) , splendido (it)
Japanese: 優れた ( すぐれた , sugureta) , 素晴らしい (ja) ( すばらしい , subarashii)
Korean: 최고(最高) 의 ( choego-ui ) , 최상(最上) 의 ( choesang-ui )
Portuguese: excelente (pt)
Russian: превосхо́дный (ru) ( prevosxódnyj ) , капита́льный (ru) ( kapitálʹnyj ) , отли́чный (ru) ( otlíčnyj )
Spanish: excelente (es)
involving punishment by death
Translations to be checked
Derived terms
Related terms
Etymology 2
From Middle English capitale , partly from Old French capital and partly from Late Latin capitellum ( “ capital or chapiter of a column ” ) , a form of Latin capitulum ( “ head-like object or structure; chapter ” ) (whence English capitulum , chapter , and the synonym chapiter ( “ uppermost part of a column ” ) ), from caput ( “ head ” ) + -ulum ( diminutive suffix ) . Doublet of caddie , cadel , cadet , capitellum , caudillo , and Kadet .
Noun
capital (plural capitals )
( countable , architecture ) The uppermost part of a column .
Synonym: chapiter
Translations
uppermost part of a column
References
^ “capitā̆l, adj. ”, in MED Online , Ann Arbor, Mich.: University of Michigan , 2007 .
^ “capital, adj. and n. 2 ”, in OED Online , Oxford, Oxfordshire: Oxford University Press , launched 2000.
^ “capitā̆l, n. (1) ”, in MED Online , Ann Arbor, Mich.: University of Michigan , 2007 .
^ “capital, n. 1 ”, in OED Online , Oxford, Oxfordshire: Oxford University Press , launched 2000.
Anagrams
Asturian
Etymology
Borrowed from Latin capitālis .
Adjective
capital (epicene , plural capitales )
capital
Noun
capital f (plural capitales )
capital city ( city designated as seat of government )
Noun
capital m (plural capitales )
capital (money)
Catalan
Etymology
Borrowed from Latin capitālis .
Pronunciation
Adjective
capital m or f (masculine and feminine plural capitals )
capital
Derived terms
Noun
capital f (plural capitals )
capital ( city )
Noun
capital m (plural capitals )
capital ( finance )
Derived terms
Further reading
French
Etymology
Borrowed from Latin capitālis . Doublet of cheptel .
Pronunciation
Noun
capital m (plural capitaux )
capital ( money and wealth )
Adjective
capital (feminine capitale , masculine plural capitaux , feminine plural capitales )
capital ( important )
La peine capitale est abolie en France depuis les années 1980. Capital punishment was abolished in France in the 1980s.
Derived terms
Related terms
Further reading
Anagrams
Latin
Etymology
Substantive form of capitālis ( “ mortal, relating to the head ” ) .
Pronunciation
Noun
capital n (genitive capitālis ) ; third declension
a capital offence ; a crime punishable by death , civil death , or exile
capital facere ― to commit a capital offence
Declension
Third-declension noun (neuter, “pure” i-stem).
References
“capital ”, in Charlton T. Lewis and Charles Short (1879 ) A Latin Dictionary , Oxford: Clarendon Press
“capital ”, in Charlton T. Lewis (1891 ) An Elementary Latin Dictionary , New York: Harper & Brothers
Portuguese
Etymology
Borrowed from Latin capitālis . Doublet of cabedal and caudal .
Pronunciation
Rhymes: -al , -aw
Hyphenation: ca‧pi‧tal
Noun
capital f (plural capitais )
( geopolitics ) capital ; capital city ( place where the seat of a government is located )
( figurative ) capital ( the most important place associated with something )
Noun
capital m (plural capitais )
( finances ) capital ( money that can be used to acquire goods and services )
( figurative ) anything of prime importance
Derived terms
Adjective
capital m or f (plural capitais )
capital ( of prime importance )
( law ) capital ( involving punishment by death )
( rare , anatomy ) capital ( relating to the head )
Related terms
Romanian
Alternative forms
Etymology
Borrowed from French capital , Latin capitālis .
Pronunciation
IPA (key ) : /ka.piˈtal/
Rhymes: -al
Hyphenation: ca‧pi‧tal
Noun
capital n (plural capitaluri )
( economics , business ) capital
Declension
Adjective
capital m or n (feminine singular capitală , masculine plural capitali , feminine and neuter plural capitale )
capital , important
Declension
Romansch
Alternative forms
Etymology
From Latin capitālis , from caput ( “ head ” ) .
Noun
capital m (plural capitals )
( Sursilvan , Sutsilvan , Surmiran ) capital
Related terms
Spanish
Etymology
Borrowed from Latin capitālis . Doublet of caudal .
Pronunciation
IPA (key ) : /kapiˈtal/
Rhymes: -al
Syllabification: ca‧pi‧tal
Adjective
capital m or f (masculine and feminine plural capitales )
capital ( important )
Es asunto de capital importancia. This is a very important matter.
capital ( relating to a death sentence )
Derived terms
Noun
capital m (plural capitales )
( finance ) capital
Derived terms
Noun
capital f (plural capitales )
capital ( city )
Further reading