What does capital mean?
Capital is a word of remarkably wide reach. Its most familiar sense is geographic: the capital of a country is its chief city, usually the seat of government and often its political and cultural center. A second major sense belongs to economics, where capital denotes wealth or assets — money, machinery, property — deployed to generate further value; economists speak of human capital, venture capital, and capital markets. The word also appears in architecture, describing the ornamental top of a column, and in typography, where a capital is simply an upper-case letter. All these senses descend from the same Latin root, caput, meaning 'head,' which explains why a capital city is figuratively the 'head' of a nation. Precise and versatile, capital is indispensable vocabulary for anyone reading news about politics, business, or finance, and distinguishing it from the similar-sounding Capitol — a building, not a city — is a classic test of careful writing.
The city or town that functions as the seat of government of a country, state, or region.
"Canberra was purpose-built to serve as Australia's capital."
Often used attributively in phrases such as 'capital city.'
Wealth in the form of money or other assets owned by a person or organization, available or committed for the purpose of producing further wealth.
"Without sufficient working capital, the factory could not cover its payroll."
In economics and accounting, subdivided into categories such as fixed, working, and human capital.
The topmost member of a column or pillar, typically wider than the shaft and often ornamented.
"The Corinthian capitals were carved with intricate acanthus leaves."
An upper-case letter, used at the beginning of sentences and proper nouns.
"Write your name entirely in capitals on the form."
Used both for multiple capital cities and for capital letters; in finance, the singular is standard even for large sums.
"The tour visited five European capitals in two weeks."
Every letter of the alphabet you capitalize traces back to the same Latin word for 'head' — and so does your cattle.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Etymology of capital
Capital derives from the Latin adjective capitalis, 'of the head,' formed from caput (genitive capitis), meaning 'head.' It entered English via Old French in the Middle Ages, initially carrying meanings tied to the head: life or death (as in capital crime), and later, by metaphor, the chief city of a realm. The economic sense of accumulated wealth developed from medieval and early modern usage of capitale in Italian commercial language. The same root gives English a wide family of words, including cattle (from Medieval Latin capitale, 'property'), capitulate, per capita, and capitalism itself.
Related word forms
How capital is actually used
As a noun referring to a city, 'capital' is always capitalized when it forms part of an official place name but lower-case otherwise ('the capital of France'). In finance, the word is largely neutral and technical, though phrases like 'capital flight' carry negative connotations. British English also uses 'capital' colloquially as an exclamation of approval ('Capital!'), a usage now dated.
Easily confused with capital
A capitol is a specific building (such as the US Capitol in Washington, D.C.) where a legislature meets, while a capital is a city.
To capitulate means to surrender or give in, whereas capital refers to a chief city or financial assets.