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capital¹ Definition

capi·tal (kap′ət 'l)

adjective

  1. involving or punishable by death (originally by decapitation) a capital offense
  2. most important or most serious; principal; chief a capital virtue
  3. of most political importance, as being the seat of government a capital city
  4. of or having to do with capital, or wealth
  5. first-rate; excellent a capital idea

Etymology: ME & OFr < L capitalis, of the head < caput, head

noun

  1. capital letter
  2. a city or town that is the official seat of government of a state, nation, etc.
  3. a city where a certain industry, activity, etc. is centered the rubber capital
  4. wealth (money or property) owned or used in business by a person, corporation, etc.
  5. an accumulated stock of such wealth or its value
  6. wealth, in whatever form, used or capable of being used to produce more wealth
  7. any source of benefit or assistance
  8. capitalists collectively
  9. Accounting
    1. the net worth of a business; amount by which the assets exceed the liabilities
    2. the face value of all the stock issued or authorized by a corporation

capital¹ Idioms

make capital of

to make the most of; exploit

capital² Definition

capi·tal (kap′ət 'l)

noun

the top part of a column or pilaster

Etymology: ME < OFr chapitel < L capitellum, dim. of caput, head

capital Synonyms

capital

modif.

  1. Principal

    chief, main, first, dominant; see principal.

  2. Excellent

    splendid, choice, first-rate, delightful; see excellent, superior. See syn. study at principal.

capital Synonyms

capital

n.

  1. A seat of government

    metropolis, principal city, seat of government; see capitol, center 2, city.

  2. Money and property

    assets, resources, principal, venture capital; see funds, industry 3, money 1, 3, property 1, wealth 1.

  3. A letter usually used initially

    initial, uppercase, majuscule; see letter 1.

make capital of

exploit, make the most of, get advantage from, profit by; see use 1.

capital Finance Definition
  1. The amount of funds that represent an ownership stake in a business or new venture that can be used to create wealth.
  2. The net worth of a business, or the amount by which assets exceed liabilities.
  3. Accumulated wealth such as cash, stocks, and other investments.
capital Law Definition

n

Money or other assets used or available for the production of wealth.

adj

A crime punishable by or involving the death penalty.
capital crime
Same as capital offense. See offense.
capital offense
See offense.
capital punishment
See punishment.
capital asset
See asset.
capital expenditure
The expenditure of money to purchase, improve, or repair property that has, or whose improvement has, a useful life that is substantially longer than the length of the taxable year in which the purchase, improvement, or repair is made. Not deductible for income tax purposes, but may be subject to depletion or depreciation. Also called capital expense.
capital expense
See capital expenditure.
capital gain
See gain.
capital gains tax
See tax.
capital loss
See loss.
capital stock
See stock.
capital Usage Examples

Preposition: of

  • province: Trier, the ancient Roman capital of the German province was a particular hit.
  • empire: Constantine, therefore, moved the capital of the empire to a new city Constantinople.

Converse of object

  • authorize: The authorized share capital is the maximum number of shares a company can issue.
  • employ: This has the advantage of improving unit numbers and gross margin without using up further capital employed in land.
  • authorize: Memorandum contains the name of the company, authorized share capital, initial members and object clause ( if any ).
  • accumulate: Postrel's freedom is less exciting: essentially the liberty to accumulate capital without state or para-state interference.
  • repay: TIP 2: Think about how you are going to repay the mortgage capital.
  • raise: Originally the ECR had obtained Parliamentary approval to raise the capital to build a railroad from London to Norwich via Ipswich.

Adjective modifier

  • authorized: The fees of incorporation are based on the IBC's authorized share capital.
  • intellectual: These studies demonstrate that training and certification programs are strategic investments in the intellectual capital of the organization.
  • social: The role of building social capital has largely been ignored.

Modifies a noun

  • expenditure: Capital expenditure must not exceed 20 % of the overall grant awarded.
  • gain: There is no income tax, capital gains tax, VAT, sales or use tax or wealth tax.
  • allowance: Capital allowances substitute for depreciation, which can be claimed at a rate of 25 % per year on a reducing balance basis.
  • investment: Chief among these barriers is the cost of new capital investment.
  • punishment: It was the head of a barony held by the Earls of Dunbar, who had the power of inflicting capital punishment.
  • city: The capital city, Kingston, is the largest on the island.

Noun used with modifier

  • venture: Today we have only six per cent of the early stage high tech venture capital of the United States.
  • share: Pay Stamp Duty at 1 % of the initial share capital.
  • equity: In this context, traditional credit risk models are inadequate because they underestimate the required equity capital.
capital Quotes

Late one morning, I awoke in the capital of a certain countryand found myselfönot changed overnight into a large brown beetle, nor feeling exactly on top of the worldömerely ready to go home.

—Kaiko,Takeshi

Speculators may do no harm as bubbles on a steady stream of enterprise.But the position is serious when enterprise becomes the bubble on a whirlpool of speculation.When the capital development of a country becomes a by-product of the activities of a casino, the job is likely to be ill-done.

—Keynes (of Tilton),John Maynard, 1st Baron

The capital is become an overgrown monster; which, like a dropsical head, will in time leave the body and extremities without nourishment and support.

—Smollett,Tobias George

You can see in pantomime the puppets fumbling with their slips of paper†seethem pickup their phone†see the noiseless, ceaseless capital of memoranda, in touch with Calcutta, in touch with Reykjavik, and always fooling with something.

—White, E(lwyn) B(rooks)

Does capital punishment tend to the security of the people? By no means. It hardens the hearts of men, and makes the loss of life appear light to them; and it renders life insecure, inasmuch as the law holds out that property is of greater value than life.

—Fry, Elizabeth

A stationary condition of capital and population implies no stationary state of human improvement. There could be as much scope as ever for all kinds of mental culture, and moral and social progress.

—Mill,John Stuart

High office teaches decision-making, not substance. It Klee consumes intellectual capital; it does not create it. Most high officials leave office with the perceptions and insights with which they entered: they learn how to make decisions, but not what decisions to make.

—Kissinger, HenryAlfred

The long and distressing controversy over capital punishment is very unfair to anyone meditating murder.

—Fisher (of Lambeth), Geoffrey Francis Fisher, Baron

This rortie wretched city Sair come down frae its auld hiechts öThe hauf o't smug, complacent, Lost til all pride of race or spirit, The tither wild and rouch as ever In its secret hairt But lost alsweill, the smeddum tane, The man o'independent mind has cap in hand the day öSits on its craggy spine And drees the wind and rain That nourished all its genius öWeary wi centuries This empty capital snorts like a great beast Caged in its sleep, dreaming of freedom.

—Smith, Sydney Goodsir

Canadian nationalism was systematically encouraged and exploited by American capital.Canada moved from colony to nation to colony.

—Innis, Harold Adams

What a finething capital punishment is! Dead mennever repent; dead men never bring awkward stories to light. Ah, it's a finething for thetrade! Five of 'emstrung up ina row; and none left to play booty, or turn white-livered!

—Dickens, CharlesJohn Huffam

   If capital isgrowing rapidly, wages may rise; the profit of capital rises incomparably more rapidly. The material position of the worker has improved, but at the cost of his social position. The social gulf that divides him from the capitalist has widened.

—Marx, Karl Heinrich

Pandemonium, the high capital Of Satan and his peers.

—Milton,John

To that high Capital, where kingly Death Keeps his pale court in beauty and decay, He came.

—Shelley, Percy Bysshe