capital
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capital¹
- /ˈkæpɪtəl/ UK
- [ˈkʰæpɪtʰəl] ~ [ˈkʰæpɪtʰl̩] UK
- /ˈkapɪtəl/ British, Northern England, Scotland
- [ˈkʰapɪtʰəl] ~ [ˈkʰapɪtʰl̩] British, Northern England, Scotland
- /ˈkæpɪtəl/ Canada, US
- [ˈkʰæpɪɾəl] ~ [ˈkʰæpɪɾl̩] Canada, US
- /ˈkæpətəl/ Australia
- [ˈkʰæpəɾəl] ~ [ˈkʰæpəɾl̩] Australia
- /ˈkɛpətəl/ New Zealand
- [ˈkʰɛpəɾəl] ~ [ˈkʰɛpəɾl̩] New Zealand
Sounds like capitol · Rhymes with -æpɪtəl
Where it comes from
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.
noun capitals · capitall
-
Money and wealth: the means to acquire or produce goods and services, especially in a non-barter system.
Near-synonym: assets
Similar: asset
-
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
Similar: asset
- The capitalist class; capital owners considered collectively as a politically influential group — commonly represented by wealthy individuals and private institutional investors. The markets crashing symbolized capital’s discontent with the tax reforms passed.
- 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 most important city in the field specified. Hollywood is the film capital, New York the theater capital, Las Vegas the gambling capital.
- An uppercase letter.
- Knowledge; awareness; proficiency. Interpreters need a good amount of cultural capital in order to function efficiently in the profession.
- The chief or most important thing.
adjective capitall
- Of prime importance. a capital article in religion
- Chief (in a political sense, as being the seat of the general government of a state or nation). London and Paris are capital cities.
- Excellent. a capital fellow
- Punishable by, or involving punishment by, death. capital punishment; capital murder
-
Uppercase.
One begins a sentence with a capital letter.
Similar: majuscular, uppercase · Opposite: lower-case
-
Used to emphasise greatness or absoluteness.
You're a genius with a capital G!
Similar: majuscular, uppercase · Opposite: lower-case
- Of or relating to the head. Needs must the Serpent now his capital bruise / Expect with mortal pain.
interjection capitall
- used as an expression of approval, satisfaction, or delight. That's an amazing idea! Capital!
capital²
- /ˈkæpɪtəl/ UK
- [ˈkʰæpɪtʰəl] ~ [ˈkʰæpɪtʰl̩] UK
- /ˈkapɪtəl/ British, Northern England, Scotland
- [ˈkʰapɪtʰəl] ~ [ˈkʰapɪtʰl̩] British, Northern England, Scotland
- /ˈkæpɪtəl/ Canada, US
- [ˈkʰæpɪɾəl] ~ [ˈkʰæpɪɾl̩] Canada, US
- /ˈkæpətəl/ Australia
- [ˈkʰæpəɾəl] ~ [ˈkʰæpəɾl̩] Australia
- /ˈkɛpətəl/ New Zealand
- [ˈkʰɛpəɾəl] ~ [ˈkʰɛpəɾl̩] New Zealand
Sounds like capitol · Rhymes with -æpɪtəl
Where it comes from
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, and caudillo.
noun capitals · capitall
-
The uppermost part of a column.
But a great wonder of this chamber, and a marvel to behold, was how the capital of every one of the four-and-twenty pillars was hewn from a single precious stone, carved by the hand of some sculptor of long ago into the living form of a monster: […]
Similar: chapiter
Capital³
proper noun
- 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.
Capital⁴
Where it comes from
Borrowed from Arabic ٱلْعَاصِمَةُ (l-ʕāṣimatu).
proper noun
- A governorate in northern Bahrain.
Thesaurus
Closest in meaning: working capital, uppercase, upper case, majuscule, chapiter, great, cap, upper-case letter, finance, asset, financing, financial, money, cash, shareholding, fiscal
Translations
Every language
noun money and wealth
| Español | capital |
|---|---|
| 한국어 | 자본 jabon |
| 日本語 | 資本 shihon |
| 中文 | 資本 /资本 zīběn |
| हिन्दी | पूंजी pūñjī, मूलधन mūldhan, पूँजी pūñjī, संपद sampad, सरमाया sarmāyā |
| Kiswahili | rasilimali |
| Português | capital |
| Français | capital |
| Deutsch | Kapital |
| Italiano | capitale |
| Ελληνικά | κεφάλαιο kefálaio, σερμαγιά sermagiá |
| Română | capital |
| Русский | капита́л kapitál, состоя́ние sostojánije, бога́тство bogátstvo |
| Tiếng Việt | vốn, chính, tư bản |
| العربية | رَأْسْمَال raʔsmāl, رَأْس مَال raʔs māl, رَأْسُ الْمَال raʔsu l-māl |
| עברית | הוֹן hon |
adj uppercase
| Español | capital, versal, titular |
|---|---|
| 한국어 | 대문자(大文字)의 daemunja-ui |
| 日本語 | 大文字の ōmoji no |
| 中文 | 大寫的 /大写的 dàxiě de, 大寫 /大写 dàxiě |
| Português | maiúsculo |
| Français | majuscule |
| Deutsch | Groß- |
| Italiano | maiuscolo |
| Ελληνικά | κεφαλαίος kefalaíos |
| Русский | загла́вный zaglávnyj, большо́й bolʹšój |
adj of prime importance
| Español | capital |
|---|---|
| 한국어 | 중요하다 jung'yohada, 주요하다 juyohada |
| 日本語 | 主な omo na, 主要な shuyō na |
| 中文 | 主要的 zhǔyào de |
| Português | capital, fundamental |
| Deutsch | Haupt- |
| Italiano | capitale, principale |
| Ελληνικά | κεφαλαιώδης kefalaiódis |
| Русский | гла́вный glávnyj, основно́й osnovnój, капита́льный kapitálʹnyj |
adj chief (in a political sense, as being the seat of the general government of a state or nation)
| Español | capital |
|---|
adj ''(UK, dated)'' excellent
| 한국어 | 최고(最高)의 choego-ui, 최상(最上)의 choesang-ui |
|---|---|
| 日本語 | 優れた sugureta, 素晴らしい subarashii |
| 中文 | 優秀 /优秀 yōuxiù |
| Português | excelente |
| Français | excellent |
| Deutsch | großartig |
| Italiano | ottimo, magnifico, eccellente, splendido |
| Русский | превосхо́дный prevosxódnyj, капита́льный kapitálʹnyj, отли́чный otlíčnyj |
adj punishable by, or involving punishment by, death
| Español | capital |
|---|---|
| 한국어 | 사형(死刑)의 sahyeong-ui |
| 日本語 | 致命的な chimeiteki na |
| हिन्दी | मरण maraṇ |
| Português | capital |
| Français | capital, capitale |
| Deutsch | Kapital- |
| Italiano | capitale |
adj of or relating to the head
| Español | capital |
|---|
noun uppermost part of a column
| Español | capitel |
|---|---|
| 한국어 | 주두 judu |
| 日本語 | 柱頭 chūtō |
| 中文 | 柱頭 /柱头 zhùtóu |
| Português | capitel |
| Français | chapiteau |
| Deutsch | Kapitell, Säulenkopf |
| Italiano | capitello |
| Ελληνικά | κιονόκρανο kionókrano |
| Română | capitel |
| Русский | капите́ль kapitélʹ |
| العربية | تَاج العَمُود tāj al-ʕamūd |
| עברית | כּוֹתֶרֶת kotéret, צֶפֶת tséfet |
Talk about this word "capital." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/capital. Accessed 5 Nov. 2026. capital. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 5, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/capital "capital." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 5, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/capital.Cite this
@misc{capital_2026,
title = {capital},
howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
year = {2026},
url = {https://micwyn.com/word/capital},
urldate = {2026-11-05}
}
