All 3 Uses of
capital
in
Oliver Twist
Uses with a very common or rare meaning:
- Which was a capital way of raising his spirits, and putting him quite at his ease.†
Chpt 2 *
- At length he put it down, as if despairing of success; and, leaning back in his chair, muttered: 'What a fine thing capital punishment is!†
Chpt 9
- They laughed, and talked of his success in doing this; and Monks, talking on about the boy, and getting very wild, said that though he had got the young devil's money safely now, he'd rather have had it the other way; for, what a game it would have been to have brought down the boast of the father's will, by driving him through every jail in town, and then hauling him up for some capital felony which Fagin could easily manage, after having made a good profit of him besides.'†
Chpt 40
Definition:
-
(meaning too common or rare to warrant focus) Capital has many other senses including an uppercase letter (such as B in contrast to b); and anything that is more important than other similar things -- especially a city from which a nation is governed. Capital is often confused with capitol which is the building (or buildings) from which a nation is governed. See a comprehensive dictionary for other senses of capital.