# capital

Pronunciation: say "KAP-i-tuhl" /ˈkæpɪtəl/

## Noun

1. The city where the government of a country, state, or region is officially based.
   - Simple: The main city of a country or state, where the government has its base.
   - _Tokyo became the capital of Japan in the nineteenth century._
   - _Each state elects officials who serve in its capital._
2. Money, property, or other assets available for investment or production, including machinery, equipment, and buildings.
   - Simple: Money and other assets used to start or run a business or produce goods and services.
   - _Investors provided the capital needed to expand the factory._
   - _Access to capital often determines which startups survive their first year._
3. An uppercase letter, such as those used to begin a sentence or a proper noun.
   - Simple: A big letter, like the ones used at the start of a name.
   - _Proofreaders flagged the missing capital at the start of the paragraph._
   - _German nouns are written with an initial capital._
5. The city regarded as the foremost or most important place for a specified activity, industry, or product.
   - Simple: A city known as the leading place for a certain activity or product.
   - _Milan has long been treated as the fashion capital of Europe._
   - _Nashville built its identity around being the country music capital._
8. Trust, goodwill, influence, or some other nonmonetary advantage that a person or group accumulates and can call on to get things done.
   - Simple: Trust, goodwill, or influence that a person or group builds up and can use to get things done.
   - _The president spent much of his political capital pushing the health-care bill through Congress._
   - _Years of volunteering gave her enough social capital to rally the whole neighborhood behind the new park._
9. The owners of wealth and investors taken collectively, regarded as a class with economic, political, and cultural influence over society.
   - Simple: Rich people and investors thought of as one group with power over money and society.
   - _Critics argued that capital had captured the very agencies meant to regulate it._
   - _The reforms shifted bargaining power away from labor and toward capital._
11. The uppermost part of a column, often carved or molded, that rests above the shaft and beneath whatever the column supports.
   - Simple: The top part of a column or pillar, often carved or decorated.
   - _The Corinthian capital was decorated with two tiers of acanthus leaves._
   - _Restorers spent weeks cleaning grime from each weathered capital along the colonnade._

## Adjective

7. Written in uppercase form rather than lowercase.
   - Simple: Written as a big letter, not a small one.
   - _The logo uses a capital B set in bold._
   - _Brand names sometimes appear entirely in capital letters._
4. Carrying the death penalty, or relating to execution as a punishment.
   - Simple: Able to be punished by death, or having to do with putting someone to death as a punishment.
   - _Treason remained a capital offense long after other penalties were softened._
   - _The defendant was convicted of a capital crime and sentenced accordingly._
6. Chief in a political sense; serving as the seat of a state or nation's central government.
   - Simple: Being the main city where a country or state runs its government.
   - _The capital region grew rapidly once it became the seat of government._
   - _Several countries have moved their capital cities inland over the years._
10. Of the greatest importance or seriousness; chief, or very great.
   - Simple: Very important or very serious, as in 'of capital importance' or 'a capital mistake'.
   - _Clear communication is of capital importance in emergency response._
   - _It would be a capital mistake to sign the contract before reading every page._
14. Having to do with funds or assets put to work over the long term, or with spending on durable things such as buildings and equipment.
   - Simple: About money put into things meant to be used for many years, like buildings and equipment.
   - _The airline announced $2 billion in capital expenditure on new aircraft over the next five years._
   - _Rising interest rates have made capital projects such as new factories harder to finance._

## Adjective

12. Excellent or first-rate. *(dated, UK)*
   - Simple: Very good or excellent.
   - _What a capital fellow your brother turned out to be!_
   - _The host laid on a capital dinner for his weekend guests._

## Interjection

13. Said to express approval, satisfaction, or delight. *(dated)*
   - Simple: Said to show that you are pleased or that something is great.
   - _Capital! We shall set off at dawn, then._
   - _You've already fixed the engine? Capital!_

## Other meanings

- (noun) The chief or most important thing among several under consideration.
- (adjective) Relating to or affecting the head.

## Origin

**Meanings 1–10, 12–14** — Latin capitālis ("of the head"), from caput ("head"), and Old French capital both fed into Middle English capital. The word's use in trade and finance began in medieval economies, where it meant the principal sum of a loan, as distinct from the interest. Capital, cattle, and chattel are doublets.
**Meaning 11** — From Middle English capitale, taken partly from Old French capital and partly from Late Latin capitellum ("the capital or top of a column"), a form of Latin capitulum ("head-like object; chapter"), from caput ("head"). It is a doublet of cadet, capitellum, and caudillo.

Source: DictionaryAI, https://dictionaryai.com/define/capital (written from Wiktionary data, CC BY-SA 4.0: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/).