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capital

 - 13 dictionary results

cap⋅i⋅tal

1  [kap-i-tl]
–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.
Use capital in a Sentence
Origin:
1175–1225; ME; (adj.) (< AF) < L capitālis of the head (capit-, s. of caput head, + -ālis -al 1 ); (n.) < ML capitāle wealth, n. use of neut. of capitālis (adj.)

Related forms:
cap⋅i⋅tal⋅ness, noun

Synonyms:
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.

Antonyms:
11. trivial, minor.

Usage note:
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.

cap⋅i⋅tal

2  [kap-i-tl]
–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

capital letter

 
–noun
a letter of the alphabet that usually differs from its corresponding lowercase letter in form and height, as A, B, Q, and R as distinguished from a, b, q, and r: used as the initial letter of a proper name, the first word of a sentence, etc.
Also called capital.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2010.
Cite This Source Link To capital
cap·i·tal 1   (kāp'ĭ-tl)   
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).

  3. Accounting The remaining assets of a business after all liabilities have been deducted; net worth.

  4. Capital stock.

  5. Capitalists considered as a group or class.

  6. An asset or advantage: "profited from political capital accumulated by others" (Michael Mandelbaum).

  7. 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.
cap·i·tal 2   (kāp'ĭ-tl)   
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.]
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
Cite This Source
Cultural Dictionary

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.

capital

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

The American Heritage® New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition
Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
Cite This Source
Slang Dictionary
capital

  1. n.
    cash; money. : I'm a little short of capital right now.
Dictionary of American Slang and Colloquial Expressions by Richard A. Spears.Fourth Edition.
Copyright 2007. Published by McGraw Hill.
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Word Origin & History

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.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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Financial Dictionary

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

Investopedia.com. Copyright © 1999-2005 - All rights reserved. Owned and Operated by Investopedia Inc.
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Legal Dictionary

Main Entry: cap·i·tal
Function: adjective
Etymology: Latin capitalis, from caput head, a person's life (as forfeit)
1 a : punishable by death <capital murder> b : involving execution capital case>
2Etymology: Medieval Latin capitalis chief, principal, from Latin caput head
: being the seat of government capital city>
3 : of or relating to capital; especially : of or relating to capital assets capital account> capital or ordinary>

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>
Merriam-Webster's Dictionary of Law, © 1996 Merriam-Webster, Inc.
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Idioms & Phrases

capital

see make capital out of.

The American Heritage® Dictionary of Idioms by Christine Ammer.
Copyright © 1997. Published by Houghton Mifflin.
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