capital

³cap·i·tal

noun \ˈka-pə-t^əl, ˈkap-t^əl\

Definition of CAPITAL

1

a (1) : a stock of accumulated goods especially at a specified time and in contrast to income received during a specified period; also : the value of these accumulated goods (2) : accumulated goods devoted to the production of other goods (3) : accumulated possessions calculated to bring in income b (1) : net worth (2) : stock 7c(1) c : persons holding capital : capitalists considered as a group d : advantage, gain <make capital of the situation> e : a store of useful assets or advantages <wasted their political capital on an unpopular cause> <wrote from the capital of his emotionally desolate boyhood — E. L. Doctorow>

2

[²capital] a : a letter that conforms to the series A, B, C, etc. rather than a, b, c, etc. : a capital letter; especially : an initial capital letter b : a letter belonging to a style of alphabet modeled on the style customarily used in inscriptions

3

[²capital] a : a city serving as a seat of government b : a city preeminent in some special activity <the fashion capital>

Examples of CAPITAL

1. … he must have poured a lot of energy into observing the men and women around him, since they would provide the literary capital he would draw on for many years to come in three major books. —Edmund White, New York Review of Books, 12 Feb. 2009
2. Myrtle Beach claims to be the nation's golf capital, and given its 123 golf courses, it is hard to dispute the title. —Elizabeth Olson, New York Times, 30 Sept. 2003
3. The two brothers-in-law pooled their resources and scrounged capital from relatives. Thorne asked several family members, including his father, to back them, but only his uncle, Samuel Thorne, came through with the money. —Jennet Conant, Tuxedo Park, 2002
4. Anna is no bumpkin: she and her sisters have been dragged thriftily around the capitals of Europe by their parents, a pair of academics who have always displayed the proper American reverence for garlic and old stones, and occasionally even sprung for a fancy meal. —Andrea Lee, New Yorker, 6 May 2002
5. This was the incident book, and there, sure enough, was the entry detailing Moretsi's injury, the words spelled out in capitals in a barely literate hand … —Alexander McCall Smith, The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency, 1998
6. In a sense, such stories are his capital, and if he's lucky he may be able to parlay them into a business opportunity … —Bill Barich, New Yorker, 7 May 1990

Origin of CAPITAL

French or Italian; French, from Italian capitale, from capitale, adjective, chief, principal, from Latin capitalis (see ²capital)

First Known Use: circa 1639

Other Business Terms

amortize, caveat emptor, clearinghouse, divest, due diligence, emolument, green-collar, marque, overhead, perquisite