Search Result for "capital letter":
Wordnet 3.0

NOUN (1)

1. one of the large alphabetic characters used as the first letter in writing or printing proper names and sometimes for emphasis;
- Example: "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, capital letter, uppercase, upper-case letter, majuscule]


The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48:

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.] [1913 Webster] Needs must the Serpent now his capital bruise Expect with mortal pain. --Milton. [1913 Webster] 2. Having reference to, or involving, the forfeiture of the head or life; affecting life; punishable with death; as, capital trials; capital punishment. [1913 Webster] Many crimes that are capital among us. --Swift. [1913 Webster] To put to death a capital offender. --Milton. [1913 Webster] 3. First in importance; chief; principal. [1913 Webster] A capital article in religion --Atterbury. [1913 Webster] Whatever is capital and essential in Christianity. --I. Taylor. [1913 Webster] 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. [1913 Webster] 5. Of first rate quality; excellent; as, a capital speech or song. [Colloq.] [1913 Webster] 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. [1913 Webster]
WordNet (r) 3.0 (2006):

capital letter n 1: 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, capital letter, uppercase, upper-case letter, majuscule] [ant: lower-case letter, lowercase, minuscule, small letter]