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capital
15 dictionary results for: Capital
Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1) - Cite This Source - Share This
cap·i·tal1       [kap-i-tl] Pronunciation Key
–noun
1.the city or town that is the official seat of government in a country, state, etc.: Tokyo is the capital of Japan.
2.a city regarded as being of special eminence in some field of activity: New York is the dance capital of the world.
3.capital letter.
4.the wealth, whether in money or property, owned or employed in business by an individual, firm, corporation, etc.
5.an accumulated stock of such wealth.
6.any form of wealth employed or capable of being employed in the production of more wealth.
7.Accounting.
a.assets remaining after deduction of liabilities; the net worth of a business.
b.the ownership interest in a business.
8.any source of profit, advantage, power, etc.; asset: His indefatigable drive is his greatest capital.
9.capitalists as a group or class (distinguished from labor): High taxation has reduced the spending power of capital.
–adjective
10.pertaining to financial capital: capital stock.
11.principal; highly important: This guide offers suggestions of capital interest to travelers.
12.chief, esp. as being the official seat of government of a country, state, etc.: the capital city of France.
13.excellent or first-rate: a capital hotel; a capital fellow.
14.capital letter.
15.involving the loss of life: capital punishment.
16.punishable by death: a capital crime; a capital offender.
17.fatal; extremely serious: a capital error.

[Origin: 1175–1225; ME; (adj.) (< AF) < L capitālis of the head (capit-, s. of caput head, + -ālis -al1); (n.) < ML capitāle wealth, n. use of neut. of capitālis (adj.)]

cap·i·tal·ness, noun

4. principal, investment, assets, stock. 11. prime, primary, first. The adjectives capital, chief, major, principal apply to a main or leading representative of a kind. Capital may mean larger or more prominent; it may also suggest preeminence or excellence: capital letter, idea, virtue, etc. Chief means leading, highest in office or power: the chief clerk. Major may refer to greatness of importance, number, or quantity: a major operation, the major part of a population. Principal refers to most distinguished, influential, or foremost: principal officer.
11. trivial, minor.
The noun capital1 refers to a city or town that is the seat of government; to a capital letter as opposed to a lowercase letter; and to wealth or resources. The noun Capitol refers primarily to the building in Washington, D.C., in which Congress sits or to similar buildings used by state legislatures.
Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1) - Cite This Source - Share This
cap·i·tal2       [kap-i-tl] Pronunciation Key
–noun Architecture.
the distinctively treated upper end of a column, pier, or the like.

[Origin: 1250–1300; ME capitale head (n. use of neut. of L adj.) for L capitellum, equiv. to capit- (s. of caput) head + -ellum dim. suffix]
American Heritage Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This
cap·i·tal 1       (kāp'ĭ-tl)  Pronunciation Key 
n.  
    1. A town or city that is the official seat of government in a political entity, such as a state or nation.
    2. A city that is the center of a specific activity or industry: the financial capital of the world.
    3. Wealth in the form of money or property, used or accumulated in a business by a person, partnership, or corporation.
    4. Material wealth used or available for use in the production of more wealth.
    5. Human resources considered in terms of their contributions to an economy: "[The] swift unveiling of his . . . plans provoked a flight of human capital" (George F. Will).
    1. Wealth in the form of money or property, used or accumulated in a business by a person, partnership, or corporation.
    2. Material wealth used or available for use in the production of more wealth.
    3. Human resources considered in terms of their contributions to an economy: "[The] swift unveiling of his . . . plans provoked a flight of human capital" (George F. Will).
  1. Accounting The remaining assets of a business after all liabilities have been deducted; net worth.
  2. Capital stock.
  3. Capitalists considered as a group or class.
  4. An asset or advantage: "profited from political capital accumulated by others" (Michael Mandelbaum).
  5. A capital letter.

adj.  
  1. First and foremost; principal: a decision of capital importance.
  2. First-rate; excellent: a capital idea.
  3. Relating to or being a seat of government.
  4. Extremely serious: a capital blunder.
  5. Involving death or calling for the death penalty: a capital offense.
  6. Of or relating to financial assets, especially being or related to those financial assets that add to the net worth of a business: made capital improvements at the plant site.
  7. Relating to or being a capital letter.


[From Middle English, principal, from Old French, from Latin capitālis, from caput, head, money laid out; see kaput- in Indo-European roots.]

Usage Note: The term for a town or city that serves as a seat of government is spelled capital. The term for the building in which a legislative assembly meets is spelled capitol.

American Heritage Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This
cap·i·tal 2       (kāp'ĭ-tl)  Pronunciation Key 


(click for larger image in new window)

n.   Architecture
The top part of a pillar or column.


[Middle English, from Anglo-Norman, from Late Latin capitellum, diminutive of Latin caput, head; see kaput- in Indo-European roots.]

Online Etymology Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This
capital 
c.1225, from L. capitalis "of the head," from caput (gen. capitis) "head" (see head). A capital crime (1526) is one that affects the life, or the "head." The noun for "chief town" is first recorded 1667 (the O.E. word was heafodstol). The financial sense (1630) is from L.L. capitale "stock, property," neut. of capitalis. Of ships, "first-rate, of the line," attested from 1652. Capital letters (c.1391) are at the "head" of a sentence or word. Capitalism first recorded 1854; originally "the condition of having capital;" as a political/economic system, 1877. Capitalist is 1791, from Fr. capitaliste, a coinage of the Revolution and a term of reproach.

WordNet - Cite This Source - Share This
capital

adjective
1. first-rate; "a capital fellow"; "a capital idea" 
2. of primary importance; "our capital concern was to avoid defeat" 
3. uppercase; "capital A"; "great A"; "many medieval manuscripts are in majuscule script" 

noun
1. assets available for use in the production of further assets 
2. wealth in the form of money or property owned by a person or business and human resources of economic value 
3. a seat of government 
4. one of the large alphabetic characters used as the first letter in writing or printing proper names and sometimes for emphasis; "printers once kept the type for capitals and for small letters in separate cases; capitals were kept in the upper half of the type case and so became known as upper-case letters" [ant: lower-case letter
5. a center that is associated more than any other with some activity or product; "the crime capital of Italy"; "the drug capital of Columbia" 
6. the federal government of the United States 
7. a book written by Karl Marx (1867) describing his economic theories [syn: Das Kapital
8. the upper part of a column that supports the entablature 

American Heritage New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition - Cite This Source - Share This
capital

In architecture, the top portion of a column.

Note: The form of the capital often serves to distinguish one style of architecture from another. For example, the Corinthian, Doric, and Ionic styles of Greek architecture all have different capitals.

American Heritage New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition - Cite This Source - Share This
capital

Money used to finance the purchase of the means of production, such as machines, or the machines themselves.


Investopedia - Cite This Source - Share This

Capital

1. Financial assets or the financial value of assets such as cash.

2. The factories, machinery, and equipment owned by a business.

Investopedia Commentary

Capital is an extremely vague term that depends on the context for a specific definition. In general, it refers to financial resources available for use.

Related Links

A Long-Term Mindset Meets Dreaded Capital-Gains Tax
Advanced Financial Statement Analysis

See also: Capital Appreciation, Capital Asset, Capital Expenditure, Capital Gain, Capital Markets

Merriam-Webster's Dictionary of Law - Cite This Source - Share This
Main Entry: capital
Function: noun
1 : accumulated assets (as money) invested or available for investment: as a : goods (as equipment) used to produce other goods b : property (as stocks) used to create income —see also capital stock at STOCK
debt capital
: capital that is raised by borrowing (as by issuing bonds or securing loans)
equity capital
: capital (as retained earnings) that is free of debt; especially : PAID-IN CAPITAL in this entry
fixed capital
: capital that is invested on a long-term basis; especially : capital that is invested in fixed assets
legal capital
: STATED CAPITAL in this entry
moneyed capital
: capital that consists of or represents money that is used or invested (as by a bank or investment company) for the purpose of making a profit on it as money —see also moneyed corporation at CORPORATION
paid–in capital
: equity capital that is received in exchange for an interest (as shares of stock) in the ownership of a business
risk capital
: VENTURE CAPITAL in this entry
stat·ed capital
: the total par value or stated value of no par issues of outstanding capital stock called also legal capital
ven·ture capital
: the initial usually paid-in capital of a new enterprise involving risk but offering potential above-average profits called also risk capital
work·ing capital
: the capital available for use in the course of business activity: a : current assets less current liabilities b : all capital of a business except the fixed capital
2 : NET WORTH
3 : a city serving as a seat of government capital>

U.S. Gazetteer - Cite This Source - Share This

Capital Heights, MD Zip code(s): 20743

Capital Hill, MP (CDP, FIPS 5900) Location: 15.20010 N, 145.75183 E
Population (1990): 1234 (340 housing units)
Area: 6.1 sq km (land), 0.0 sq km (water)

Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This

Capital

Cap"i*tal\, a. [F. capital, L. capitalis capital (in senses 1 & 2), fr. caput head. See Chief, and cf. Capital, n.]

1. Of or pertaining to the head. [Obs.]

Needs must the Serpent now his capital bruise Expect with mortal pain. --Milton.

2. Having reference to, or involving, the forfeiture of the head or life; affecting life; punishable with death; as, capital trials; capital punishment.

Many crimes that are capital among us. --Swift.

To put to death a capital offender. --Milton.

3. First in importance; chief; principal.

A capital article in religion --Atterbury.

Whatever is capital and essential in Christianity. --I. Taylor.

4. Chief, in a political sense, as being the seat of the general government of a state or nation; as, Washington and Paris are capital cities.

5. Of first rate quality; excellent; as, a capital speech or song. [Colloq.]

Capital letter [F, lettre capitale] (Print.), a leading or heading letter, used at the beginning of a sentence and as the first letter of certain words, distinguished, for the most part, both by different form and larger size, from the small (lower-case) letters, which form the greater part of common print or writing.

Small capital letters have the form of capital letters and height of the body of the lower-case letters.

Capital stock, money, property, or stock invested in any business, or the enterprise of any corporation or institution. --Abbott.

Syn: Chief; leading; controlling; prominent.

Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This

Capital

Cap"i*tal\, n. [Cf. L. capitellum and Capitulum, a small head, the head, top, or capital of a column, dim. of caput head; F. chapiteau, OF. capitel. See Chief, and cf. Cattle, Chattel, Chapiter, Chapter.]

1. (Arch.) The head or uppermost member of a column, pilaster, etc. It consists generally of three parts, abacus, bell (or vase), and necking. See these terms, and Column.

2. [Cf. F. capilate, fem., sc. ville.] (Geog.) The seat of government; the chief city or town in a country; a metropolis. "A busy and splendid capital" --Macauly.

3. [Cf. F. capital.] Money, property, or stock employed in trade, manufactures, etc.; the sum invested or lent, as distinguished from the income or interest. See Capital stock, under Capital, a.

4. (Polit. Econ.) That portion of the produce of industry, which may be directly employed either to support human beings or to assist in production. --M'Culloch.

Note: When wealth is used to assist production it is called capital. The capital of a civilized community includes fixed capital (i.e. buildings, machines, and roads used in the course of production and exchange) amd circulating capital (i.e., food, fuel, money, etc., spent in the course of production and exchange). --T. Raleigh.

5. Anything which can be used to increase one's power or influence.

He tried to make capital out of his rival's discomfiture. --London Times.

6. (Fort.) An imaginary line dividing a bastion, ravelin, or other work, into two equal parts.

7. A chapter, or section, of a book. [Obs.]

Holy St. Bernard hath said in the 59th capital. --Sir W. Scott.

8. (Print.) See Capital letter, under Capital, a.

Active capital. See under Active,

Small capital (Print.), a small capital letter. See under Capital, a.

To live on one's capital, to consume one's capital without producing or accumulating anything to replace it.

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