# capitol

Pronunciation: US say "KAP-i-tuhl" /ˈkæp.ɪ.təl/; UK

## Noun

1. The meeting place of a legislature, whether a single building or a complex of several. *(US)*
   - Simple: A building or group of buildings where lawmakers meet to make laws.
   - _Lawmakers returned to the capitol in January for a special session on the budget._
   - _Security was tightened at state capitols across the country before the vote._
2. A citadel or complex of buildings similar to the Roman Capitol, especially a Roman or Italian citadel with temples to Jupiter, Juno, and Minerva.
   - Simple: A fort or set of buildings like Rome's Capitol, especially an Italian one with temples to Jupiter, Juno, and Minerva.
   - _Excavations at the colony uncovered a capitol whose three shrines honored Jupiter, Juno, and Minerva._
   - _Like Rome itself, the settlement built a capitol to guard its people and house its gods._
3. Alternative form of capitoul. — Alternative form of capitoul (“the former chief magistrates of Toulouse, France”).
   - Simple: Alternative form of capitoul. Used in history for the top officials of the city of Toulouse in France.
   - _As a capitol of Toulouse, he sat among the city's chief magistrates._
   - _The portrait in the town hall shows a capitol in the robes of his office._

## Origin

From Middle English Capitolie, via Anglo-Norman capitolie and Old French capitoile, from Latin Capitōlium ("the Capitoline Hill and its temples; any similar citadel"), built on the stem of caput ("head") with noun-forming suffixes. The sense of a French magistrate came via French capitoul, from Capitole, the town hall of Toulouse.

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