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capital

/ˈkæpɪtl/
noun★Intermediate— a city serving as the seat of government
formal

the city or town that is the official seat of government for a country or region

Paris is the capital of France.

This means Paris is the political and administrative center of France.

💡

The term can also refer to the capital city of a state or province within a country.

💰Finance
Finance

wealth in the form of money or other assets owned by a person or organization

The company has significant capital invested in new technology.

This means the company has allocated a large amount of money or resources to developing new technology.

💡

In finance, capital can refer to financial assets, physical assets, or human capital (skills and knowledge).

grammar

a large letter at the beginning of a word or sentence

In English, the first letter of a sentence is always capitalized.

This means the first letter of a sentence should be written in uppercase.

💡

This usage is specific to written language and typography.

Collocations

capital citythe official seat of governmenthuman capitalthe skills and knowledge of a workforcecapital investmentmoney invested in assets or projects

Synonyms

seat of governmentfinancial resourceswealthuppercase letter

Antonyms

lowercase letterdebtliability

Related Phrases

capital punishmentphrase
the legal penalty of death
capital gainsphrase
profit from the sale of an asset

💡Pro Tip

Context Matters

The meaning of 'capital' depends heavily on the context in which it is used. Pay attention to whether it is being used in a geographical, financial, or grammatical sense.

⚡Gold Rule

Geographical vs. Financial

When 'capital' refers to a city, it is typically written with a capital letter (e.g., 'Washington, D.C. is the capital of the United States'). When referring to financial assets, it is usually lowercase unless it starts a sentence.

📖Word Origin

From Old French 'capital', from Latin 'capitalis', meaning 'of the head', from 'caput' (head). Originally referred to the head of a column or the principal part of something.

📝Usage Notes

The word 'capital' has multiple meanings depending on context. In geography, it refers to a city; in finance, it refers to wealth or assets; and in grammar, it refers to uppercase letters.

Word Breakdown

capit-
head
root
+
-al
relating to
suffix
English Dictionary

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