capitol

noun

USKAP-i-tuhl/ˈkæp.ɪ.təl/

3 meanings of capitol

1
nounUScountable
A building or group of buildings where lawmakers meet to make laws.
Our class took a tour of the state capitol last spring.
Hundreds of people stood on the steps of the capitol to protest the new law.
Similarstatehouse
Note
2
nounhistoricalcountable
A fort or set of buildings like Rome's Capitol, especially an Italian one with temples to Jupiter, Juno, and Minerva.
The ruins of the capitol show where the town's three main temples once stood.
Visitors climb up to the old Roman capitol to see the stones of its walls.
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3
nounhistorical
Alternative form of capitoul. Used in history for the top officials of the city of Toulouse in France.
Her ancestor served as a capitol and helped run the city of Toulouse.
The old city records list him as a capitol, one of the top officials of Toulouse.
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Practice

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Origin

It comes from the Latin name of the Capitoline Hill in Rome, which is built on caput, the Latin word for "head".