Capitol

How to spell capitol

7 letters · 3 syllables

How to pronounce capitol

Say the part in capitals loudest.

What does capitol mean?

1. nounA building in which a legislative assembly meets, especially a state legislature or the national legislature of the United States.

Capitol in a sentence

• Protesters gathered on the steps of the capitol building to watch the vote.

• The marble dome of the capitol was lit up against the evening sky.

Where does capitol come from?

Language of origin: Latin

This word descends from the Latin Capitolium, the name of the great temple of Jupiter that stood on the Capitoline Hill, one of the seven hills of Rome. The name traces back to caput, the Latin word for 'head', because the hill was regarded as the head or summit of the city, and legend told of a human head being unearthed when the temple's foundations were dug. In English the spelling 'capitol' came to mean a building that houses a legislative assembly, a usage cemented when the United States named its national legislative building the Capitol in the 1790s. This is the crucial spelling trap: 'capitol' with an 'o' refers to the physical building, while 'capital' with an 'a' covers the city, the money, and the uppercase letter. Both words share the same caput root, which is exactly why they are so easily confused, but the rounded dome of a capitOl building is a handy reminder of its 'o'.

How the word is built

• capitol- (from Latin Capitolium, the temple of Jupiter on the Capitoline Hill)
• (noun)