Origin: Latin suffix -al
Capital has 13 different meanings across 2 categories:
assets available for use in the production of further assets
"The factory owners pledged their liquid capital to purchase new machinery that would expand their production capacity next year."
wealth in the form of money or property owned by a person or business and human resources of economic value
"The venture capitalist was impressed by our company's substantial capital, which included millions in savings, several commercial properties, and a highly skilled engineering team."
a seat of government
"Paris has long served as the capital of France, where all major political decisions are made."
one of the large alphabetic characters used as the first letter in writing or printing proper names and sometimes for emphasis
"printers once kept the type for capitals and for small letters in separate cases; capitals were kept in the upper half of the type case and so became known as upper-case letters"
a center that is associated more than any other with some activity or product
"the crime capital of Italy"
"the drug capital of Columbia"
the federal government of the United States
"When they moved to Washington, D.C., she was finally living in the nation's capital."
a book written by Karl Marx (1867) describing his economic theories
"The history professor assigned us to read the first chapter of Capital for our next seminar on Marxist economics."
Already-produced durable goods available for use as a factor of production, such as steam shovels (equipment) and office buildings (structures).
"The construction firm's balance sheet showed a significant increase in capital after they purchased new excavators to expand their operations."
In plain English: Capital is money that people or companies use to start businesses and make more wealth.
"London is the capital of England."
Usage: In everyday language, "capital" refers to money or assets used to start or run a business, not the economic concept of physical equipment and structures. Use this term when discussing financial investments rather than machinery or buildings.
Of prime importance.
"The company decided to make sustainability a capital priority for all future projects."
In plain English: Capital describes something that is very important, excellent, or of high quality.
"The capital city is located in the north of the country."
Usage: Use "capital" as an adjective to describe something of utmost importance or value, such as calling a mistake "a capital error." Do not use it to mean free or generous, which are incorrect interpretations in modern English.
The word capital comes from the Latin caput, meaning "head," originally referring to livestock in medieval trade where cattle heads represented valuable transactions. This financial sense eventually evolved into its modern usage for money and city centers, while the related English word cap also traces back to the same root.