Capital \Cap"i*tal\, a. [F. capital, L. capitalis capital (in
   senses 1 & 2), fr. caput head. See {Chief}, and cf.
   {Capital}, n.]
   1. Of or pertaining to the head. [Obs.]
      
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            Needs must the Serpent now his capital bruise
            Expect with mortal pain.              --Milton.
      
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   2. Having reference to, or involving, the forfeiture of the
      head or life; affecting life; punishable with death; as,
      capital trials; capital punishment.
      
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            Many crimes that are capital among us. --Swift.
      
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            To put to death a capital offender.   --Milton.
      
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   3. First in importance; chief; principal.
      
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            A capital article in religion         --Atterbury.
      
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            Whatever is capital and essential in Christianity.
                                                  --I. Taylor.
      
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   4. Chief, in a political sense, as being the seat of the
      general government of a state or nation; as, Washington
      and Paris are capital cities.
      
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   5. Of first rate quality; excellent; as, a capital speech or
      song. [Colloq.]
      
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   {Capital letter} [F, lettre capitale] (Print.), a leading or
      heading letter, used at the beginning of a sentence and as
      the first letter of certain words, distinguished, for the
      most part, both by different form and larger size, from
      the small (lower-case) letters, which form the greater
      part of common print or writing.

   {Small capital letters} have the form of capital letters and
      height of the body of the lower-case letters.

   {Capital stock}, money, property, or stock invested in any
      business, or the enterprise of any corporation or
      institution. --Abbott.

   Syn: Chief; leading; controlling; prominent.
        
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capital \cap"i*tal\ (k[a^]p"[i^]*tal), n. [Cf. L. capitellum and
   capitulum, a small head, the head, top, or capital of a
   column, dim. of caput head; F. chapiteau, OF. capitel. See
   {chief}, and cf. {cattle}, {chattel}, {chapiter}, {chapter}.]
   1. (Arch.) The head or uppermost member of a column,
      pilaster, etc. It consists generally of three parts,
      abacus, bell (or vase), and necking. See these terms, and
      {Column}.
      
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   2. [Cf. F. capilate, fem., sc. ville.] (Geog.) The seat of
      government; the chief city or town in a country; a
      metropolis. "A busy and splendid capital" --Macauly.
      
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   3. [Cf. F. capital.] Money, property, or stock employed in
      trade, manufactures, etc.; the sum invested or lent, as
      distinguished from the income or interest. See {Capital  stock}, under {Capital}, a.
      
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   4. (Polit. Econ.) That portion of the produce of industry,
      which may be directly employed either to support human
      beings or to assist in production. --M'Culloch.
      
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   Note: When wealth is used to assist production it is called
         capital. The capital of a civilized community includes
         {fixed capital} (i.e. buildings, machines, and roads
         used in the course of production and exchange) and
         {circulating capital} (i.e., food, fuel, money, etc.,
         spent in the course of production and exchange). --T.
         Raleigh.
         
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   5. Anything which can be used to increase one's power or
      influence.
      
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            He tried to make capital out of his rival's
            discomfiture.                         --London
                                                  Times.
      
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   6. (Fort.) An imaginary line dividing a bastion, ravelin, or
      other work, into two equal parts.
      
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   7. A chapter, or section, of a book. [Obs.]
      
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            Holy St. Bernard hath said in the 59th capital.
                                                  --Sir W.
                                                  Scott.
      
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   8. (Print.) See {Capital letter}, under {Capital}, a.
      
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   {Active capital}. See under {Active},

   {Small capital} (Print.), a small capital letter; informally
      referred to (in the plural) as {small caps}; as, the
      technical terms are listed in {small caps}. See under
      {Capital}, a.

   {To live on ones capital}, to consume one's capital without
      producing or accumulating anything to replace it.
      
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