Capital  —n. 1 chief town or city of a country or region. 2 a money etc. With which a company starts in business. B accumulated wealth. 3 capitalists collectively. 4 capital letter. 5 head of a column or pillar. —adj. 1 a principal, most important. B colloq. Excellent. 2 a involving punishment by death. B (of an error etc.) Vitally harmful, fatal. 3 (of letters of the alphabet) large in size, used to begin sentences and names etc.  make capital out of use to one's advantage. [latin caput -itis head]