Main Difference – Capital vs Capitol
Capital and capitol are another set of homophones that are commonly confused by many English speakers and writers. Though separated by just one letter, capital and capitol have different meanings. The main difference between capital and capitol is that capitol is a building housing a legislative assembly. Capital has many other meanings. Let us first look at the meanings of these two words separately.
Capital – Meaning and Usage
Capital has various meanings. Some of them are explained below with examples. As a noun, capital can refer to,
A city that functions as the seat of the government for a country or a state
Madrid is the capital of Spain.
Farmers all over the country marched to the capital.
A city or town associated with a particular activity or product than any other city
Paris is the capital of fashion.
Hollywood is considered to be the movie capital of the world.
An amount of money or property
Did you invest capital in her business?
Rates of return on invested capital were high.
An uppercase letter
Please write your name in capitals.
Proper nouns, as well as sentences, must always start in capitals.
As an adjective, capital can refer to,
Main/major
One of his capital theories is based on existentialist theories.
Her capital concern was their safety.
Liable to the death penalty
People protested against the restoration of the capital punishment.
Although he was charged with a capital offense, the defendant pleaded guilty.
Paris is the capital of France.
Capitol – Meaning and Usage
The term capitol refers to a building or set of buildings where state legislature meets. But Capitol (with the capital C) always refers to the seat of the United States Congress. It is situated on top of the Capitol Hill in Washington DC. Since this second meaning is a name of a place, Capitol becomes a proper noun and should always be written in capital letters.
The hearing was held yesterday in the South wing of the Capitol.
Legislators appear at the state capitol every year.
Peter lives close to the capitol.
The temple of Jupiter on the Capitoline Hill in ancient Rome was also known as the Capitol.
United States Capitol Building in Washington, DC
Difference Between Capital and Capitol
Meaning
Capital has numerous meanings. Capital can refer to,
-a city or town that is the seat of the government
-an amount of money or property
-uppercase letters
-major or main etc.
Capitol is the seat of United States Congress. A capitol is a building housing a legislative assembly.
Grammatical Category
Capital is a noun and an adjective.
Capitol is a noun.
Place
Capital is often used to describe a city or town.
Capitol is a name of a place.
Capital letters
Capital doesn’t start with capital letters unless it is at the beginning of a sentence.
Capitol is (the seat of United States Congress) is a proper noun, and, therefore, starts with a capital letter.
Image Courtesy:
“Sun sets over the base of the Eiffel” by Eric Chan from Hollywood, United States – Uploaded by Paris 17 (CC BY 2.0) via Commons Wikimedia
“US Capitol” by David Maiolo – Own work (CC BY-SA 3.0) via Commons Wikimedia
