FromMiddle Englishcapital, borrowed partly fromOld Frenchcapital and partly fromLatincapitālis(“of the head”)[1][2] (in sense “head ofcattle”), fromcaput(“head”) (Englishcap) +-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.[3]
Comparechattel andkith and kine(“all one’s possessions”), which also use “cow” to mean “property”.
Lin Hsiang-ju immediately said to the king of Ch’in, “IfTa-wang wants fifteen cities from Chao, the king of Chao should also get something in return. What about giving him Hsien-yang as a gift?’ Hsien-yang was thecapital of Ch’in.
2005, Sharon Grehan,Random Acts of Malice, page56:
Ladies of yesteryear toured worldcapitals in sedate linen dresses, but such priggish frumpery hardly presents Americans as the carefree, egalitarian, and sensuous people the viewers of dubbedBaywatch episodes have come to expect.
From the ground, Colombo’s port does not look like much.[…] But viewed from high up in one of the growing number of skyscrapers in Sri Lanka’scapital, it is clear that something extraordinary is happening: China is creating a shipping hub just 200 miles from India’s southern tip.
2022 April 5, Edward-Isaac Dovere, “Why these Democrats think 25 state legislative races are the key to securing the 2024 presidential election”, inCNN[3]:
State legislative races tend to come cheap, with low turnout and tiny margins despite how statecapitals have taken on an ever larger role amid legislative stalemate in Washington, DC. In 2020, a combined total of 46,000 votes determined which party was in majority control in 13 different state legislature chambers across the country.
2023 June 8, Richard Collett, “He ran out of countries to visit, so he created his own”, inCNN[4]:
Wearing his best suit and sunglasses, the sultan of Slowjamastan officially declared independence from the United States of America at 12:26 p.m. on December 1, 2021 as he broadcast the secession live from his open-air government “office” in Dublândia, thecapital of the Republic of Slowjamastan.
The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables. See instructions atWiktionary:Entry layout § Translations.
1709, [Jonathan Swift],A Project for the Advancement of Religion, and the Reformation of Manners.[…], London:[…] Benj[amin] Tooke,[…],→OCLC,pages53–54:
Neither could the Legiſlature in any thing more conſult the Publick Good, than by providing ſome effectual Remedy againſt this Evil, which in ſeveral Caſes deſerves greater Puniſhment than many Crimes that arecapital among us.
2021 February 9, Christina Newland, “IsTom Hanks part of a dying breed of genuine movie stars?”, inBBC[6]:
In recent years, much has been made of the lack of new heavyweight male star power in mainstream Hollywood. Talented performers may be everywhere, but Movie Stars,capital M,capital S, are something else.
1667,John Milton, “Book X”, inParadise Lost.[…], London:[…] [Samuel Simmons], and are to be sold by Peter Parker[…];[a]nd by Robert Boulter[…];[a]nd Matthias Walker,[…],→OCLC; republished asParadise Lost in Ten Books:[…], London: Basil Montagu Pickering[…],1873,→OCLC:
Needs must the Serpent now hiscapital bruise / Expect with mortal pain.
The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables. See instructions atWiktionary:Entry layout § Translations.
But a great wonder of this chamber, and a marvel to behold, was how thecapital of every one of the four-and-twenty pillars was hewn from a single precious stone, carved by the hand of some sculptor of long ago into the living form of a monster:[…]
2024 January 3, Iván Pérez Sarmenti, “Nuevo blanqueo de capitales en Argentina: ¿quiénes podrían ingresar sin ser castigados?”, inCNN en Español[7], archived fromthe original on6 January 2024:
Entre los cientos de propuestas, desregulaciones y cambios que presentó el nuevo presidente de Argentina, Javier Milei, se encuentra una iniciativa de blanqueo decapitales y activos, que fue incluida en el voluminoso proyecto de ley que envió al Congreso y que resulta muy atractivo para quienes decidan declarar hasta US$ 100.000 porque no se les cobrará ninguna penalidad.
2023 June 8, Richard Collett, “Este DJ se quedó sin países que visitar, así que creó el suyo”, inCNN en Español[8]:
Vestido con su mejor traje y gafas de sol, el Sultán de Slowjamastan declaró oficialmente la independencia de Estados Unidos a las 12:26 p.m. del 1 de diciembre de 2021, mientras retransmitía la secesión en directo desde su “oficina” gubernamental al aire libre en Dublândia, lacapital de la República de Slowjamastan.
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