Source : Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913)

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.]

            Needs must the Serpent now his capital bruise Expect
            with mortal pain.                     --Milton.

   2. Having reference to, or involving, the forfeiture of the
      head or life; affecting life; punishable with death; as,
      capital trials; capital punishment.

            Many crimes that are capital among us. --Swift.

            To put to death a capital offender.   --Milton.

   3. First in importance; chief; principal.

            A capital article in religion         --Atterbury.

            Whatever is capital and essential in Christianity.
                                                  --I. Taylor.

   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.

   5. Of first rate quality; excellent; as, a capital speech or
      song. [Colloq.]

Capital \Cap"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}.

   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.

   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.

   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.

   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) amd
         circulating capital (i.e., food, fuel, money, etc.,
         spent in the course of production and exchange). --T.
         Raleigh.

   5. Anything which can be used to increase one's power or
      influence.

            He tried to make capital out of his rival's
            discomfiture.                         --London
                                                  Times.

   6. (Fort.) An imaginary line dividing a bastion, ravelin, or
      other work, into two equal parts.

   7. A chapter, or section, of a book. [Obs.]

            Holy St. Bernard hath said in the 59th capital.
                                                  --Sir W.
                                                  Scott.

   8. (Print.) See {Capital letter}, under {Capital}, a.

   {Active capital}. See under {Active},

   {Small capital} (Print.), a small capital letter. See under
      {Capital}, a.

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

Source : WordNet®

capital
     adj 1: first-rate; "a capital fellow"; "a capital idea"
     2: punishable by death; "a capital offense"
     3: of primary important; "our capital concern was to avoid
        defeat"
     4: uppercase; "capital A"; "great A"; "many medieval
        manuscripts are in majuscule script" [syn: {great}, {majuscule}]

capital
     n 1: assets available for use in the production of further assets
          [syn: {working capital}]
     2: wealth in the form of money or property owned by a person or
        business and human resources of economic value
     3: a seat of government
     4: 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" [syn: {capital letter}, {upper
        case}, {upper-case letter}, {majuscule}] [ant: {small
        letter}]
     5: a book written by Karl Marx (1867) describing his economic
        theories [syn: {Das Kapital}]
     6: the upper part of a column that supports the entablature
        [syn: {chapiter}, {cap}]