capacity

capacity (kəˈpæsɪtɪ)
—n , pl -ties
1.	the ability or power to contain, absorb, or hold
2.	the amount that can be contained; volume: a capacity of six gallons
3.	a.  the maximum amount something can contain or absorb (esp in the phrase filled to capacity)
	b.  (as modifier): a capacity crowd
4.	the ability to understand or learn; aptitude; capability: he has a great capacity for Greek
5.	the ability to do or produce (often in the phrase at capacity): the factory's output was not at capacity
6.	a specified position or function: he was employed in the capacity of manager
7.	a measure of the electrical output of a piece of apparatus such as a motor, generator, or accumulator
8.	electronics a former name for capacitance
9.	computing
	a.  the number of words or characters that can be stored in a particular storage device
	b.  the range of numbers that can be processed in a register
10.	the bit rate that a communication channel or other system can carry
11.	legal competence: the capacity to make a will
[C15: from Old French capacite, from Latin capācitās, from capāx spacious, from capere to take]

capacity

capacity ca·pac·i·ty (kə-pās'ĭ-tē)
n.

1. The measure of potential cubic contents of a cavity or receptacle; volume.

2. Ability to perform or produce; capability.

capacity definition

communications
The maximum possible data transfer rate of a communications channel under ideal conditions. The total capacity of a channel may be shared between several independent data streams using some kind of multiplexing, in which case, each stream's data rate may be limited to a fixed fraction of the total capacity.
(2001-05-22)