All 5 Uses of
capital
in
Washington Square
Uses with a very common or rare meaning:
- Mrs. Sloper was amiable, graceful, accomplished, elegant, and in 1820 she had been one of the pretty girls of the small but promising capital which clustered about the Battery and overlooked the Bay, and of which the uppermost boundary was indicated by the grassy waysides of Canal Street.†
Chpt 1
- You know high treason is a capital offence; take care how you incur the penalty.†
Chpt 19
- It makes me a bad adviser, perhaps; but it makes me a capital friend!†
Chpt 21
- "A capital friend who gives bad advice!" said Morris.†
Chpt 21
- I have a capital plan—do let me go at him!†
Chpt 26 *
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.