Added 9 October 2026
capital
/ˈkæpɪtəl/ noun
Latin root: capitālis Wiktionary
noun Definition from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA). Pronunciation from Wiktionary, via Kaikki.org. More about capital at Wordnik → Where our words come from →
-
Money and wealth: the means to acquire or produce goods and services, especially in a non-barter system.
He does not have enough capital to start a business.
-
Already-produced durable goods available for use as a factor of production, such as tools and bulldozers (equipment) and office buildings (structures).
He pointed out that it takes both labour and capital to produce goods.
-
The capitalist class; capital owners considered collectively as a politically influential group — commonly represented by wealthy individuals and private institutional investors.
The markets crashing symbolized capital’s discontent with the tax reforms passed.
adjective
interjection
-
Used as an expression of approval, satisfaction, or delight.
That's an amazing idea! Capital!
noun
Origin
From Middle English capital, borrowed partly from Old French capital and partly from Latin capitālis (“of the head”) (in sense “head of cattle”), from caput (“head”) (English cap) + -ālis (suffix forming adjectives). Use in trade and finance originated in Medieval economies when a common but expensive transaction involved trading heads of cattle. The noun is from the adjective. In the fourth sense, displaced native Old English hēafodburg, equivalent to head + borough (“city”). Compare chattel and kith and kine (“all one’s possessions”), which also use “cow” to mean “property”. Doublet of cattle and chattel.
From Wiktionary, via Kaikki.org (CC BY-SA)