Capsheaf noun The top sheaf of a stack of grain: (fig.) the crowning or finishing part of a thing.

Capsicin noun [ From Capsicum .] (Chemistry) A red liquid or soft resin extracted from various species of capsicum.

Capsicine noun [ From Capsicum .] (Chemistry) A volatile alkaloid extracted from Capsicum annuum or from capsicin.

Capsicum (kăp"sĭ*kŭm) noun [ New Latin , from Latin capsa box, chest.] (Botany) A genus of plants of many species, producing capsules or dry berries of various forms, which have an exceedingly pungent, biting taste, and when ground form the red or Cayenne pepper of commerce.
[ 1913 Webster]

» The most important species are Capsicum baccatum or bird pepper, C. fastigiatum or chili pepper, C. frutescens or spur pepper, and C. annuum or Guinea pepper, which includes the bell pepper and other common garden varieties. The fruit is much used, both in its green and ripe state, in pickles and in cookery. See Cayenne pepper .
[ 1913 Webster]

Capsize transitive verb & i. [ imperfect & past participle Capsized ; present participle & verbal noun Capsizing .] [ Confer Spanish cabecear to nod, pitch, capuzar , chapuzar , to sink (a vessel) by the head; both from Latin caput head.] To upset or overturn, as a vessel or other body.

But what if carrying sail capsize the boat?
Byron.

Capsize noun An upset or overturn.

Capsquare noun (Gun.) A metal covering plate which passes over the trunnions of a cannon, and holds it in place.

Capstan noun [ French cabestan , from Spanish cabestrante , cabrestante , from cabestrar to bind with a halter, from cabestro halter, from Latin capistrum halter, from capere to hold (see Capacious ); or perhaps the Spanish is from Latin caper goat + stans , present participle of stare to stand; confer French chèvre she-goat, also a machine for raising heavy weights.] A vertical cleated drum or cylinder, revolving on an upright spindle, and surmounted by a drumhead with sockets for bars or levers. It is much used, especially on shipboard, for moving or raising heavy weights or exerting great power by traction upon a rope or cable, passing around the drum. It is operated either by steam power or by a number of men walking around the capstan, each pushing on the end of a lever fixed in its socket. [ Sometimes spelt Capstern , but improperly.]

Capstan bar , one of the long bars or levers by which the capstan is worked; a handspike.. -- To pawl the capstan , to drop the pawls so that they will catch in the notches of the pawl ring, and prevent the capstan from turning back. -- To rig the capstan , to prepare the for use, by putting the bars in the sockets. -- To surge the capstan , to slack the tension of the rope or cable wound around it.

Capstone noun (Paleon.) A fossil echinus of the genus Cannulus ; -- so called from its supposed resemblance to a cap.

Capsular, Capsulary adjective [ Confer French capsulaire .] Of or pertaining to a capsule; having the nature of a capsule; hollow and fibrous.

Capsular ligament (Anat.) , a ligamentous bag or capsule surrounding many movable joints in the skeleton.

Capsulate, Capsulated adjective Inclosed in a capsule, or as in a chest or box.

Capsule noun [ Latin capsula a little box or chest, from capsa chest, case, from capere to take, contain: confer French capsule .]
1. (Botany) a dry fruit or pod which is made up of several parts or carpels, and opens to discharge the seeds, as, the capsule of the poppy, the flax, the lily, etc.

2. (Chemistry) (a) A small saucer of clay for roasting or melting samples of ores, etc.; a scorifier. (b) a small, shallow, evaporating dish, usually of porcelain.

3. (Medicine) A small cylindrical or spherical gelatinous envelope in which nauseous or acrid doses are inclosed to be swallowed.

4. (Anat.) A membranous sac containing fluid, or investing an organ or joint; as, the capsule of the lens of the eye. Also, a capsulelike organ.

5. A metallic seal or cover for closing a bottle.

6. A small cup or shell, as of metal, for a percussion cap, cartridge, etc.

Atrabiliary capsule . See under Atrabiliary . -- Glisson's capsule , a membranous envelope, entering the liver along with the portal vessels and insheathing the latter in their course through the organ. -- Suprarenal capsule , an organ of unknown function, above or in front of each kidney.

Capsulitis noun [ New Latin ; English capsule + -itis .] (Medicine) Inflammation of a capsule, as that of the crystalline lens.

Capsulotomy noun [ Capsule + Greek ... to cut.] (Surg.) The incision of a capsule, esp. of that of the crystalline lens, as in a cataract operation.

Captain (kăp"tĭn) noun [ Middle English capitain , captain , Old French capitain , French capitaine (cf. Spanish capitan , Italian capitano ), Late Latin capitaneus , capitanus , from Latin caput the head. See under Chief , and confer Chieftain .]
1. A head, or chief officer ; as: (a) The military officer who commands a company, troop, or battery, or who has the rank entitling him to do so though he may be employed on other service. (b) An officer in the United States navy, next above a commander and below a commodore, and ranking with a colonel in the army. (c) By courtesy, an officer actually commanding a vessel, although not having the rank of captain. (d) The master or commanding officer of a merchant vessel. (e) One in charge of a portion of a ship's company; as, a captain of a top, captain of a gun, etc. (f) The foreman of a body of workmen. (g) A person having authority over others acting in concert; as, the captain of a boat's crew; the captain of a football team.

A trainband captain eke was he.
Cowper.

The Rhodian captain , relying on . . . the lightness of his vessel, passed, in open day, through all the guards.
Arbuthnot.

2. A military leader; a warrior.

Foremost captain of his time.
Tennyson.

Captain general . (a) The commander in chief of an army or armies, or of the militia. (b) The Spanish governor of Cuba and its dependent islands. -- Captain lieutenant , a lieutenant with the rank and duties of captain but with a lieutenant's pay, -- as in the first company of an English regiment.

Captain transitive verb To act as captain of; to lead. [ R.]

Men who captained or accompanied the exodus from existing forms.
Lowell.

Captain adjective Chief; superior. [ R.]

captain jewes in the carcanet.
Shak.

Captaincy noun ; plural Captaincies The rank, post, or commission of a captain. Washington.

Captaincy general , the office, power, territory, or jurisdiction of a captain general; as, the captaincy general of La Habana (Cuba and its islands).

Captainry noun [ Confer French capitainerie .] Power, or command, over a certain district; chieftainship. [ Obsolete]

Captainship noun
1. The condition, rank, post, or authority of a captain or chief commander. "To take the captainship ." Shak.

2. Military skill; as, to show good captainship .

Captation noun [ Latin captatio , from captare to catch, intens. of caper to take: confer French captation .] A courting of favor or applause, by flattery or address; a captivating quality; an attraction. [ Obsolete]

Without any of those dresses, or popular captations , which some men use in their speeches.
Eikon Basilike.

Caption noun [ Latin captio , from caper to take. In senses 3 and 4, perhaps confounded in meaning with Latin caput a head. See Capacious .]
1. A caviling; a sophism. [ Obsolete]

This doctrine is for caption and contradiction.
Bacon.

2. The act of taking or arresting a person by judicial process. [ R.] Bouvier.

3. (Law) That part of a legal instrument, as a commission, indictment, etc., which shows where, when, and by what authority, it was taken, found, or executed. Bouvier. Wharton.

4. The heading of a chapter, section, or page. [ U. S.]

Captious adjective [ French captieux , Latin captiosus . See Caption .]
1. Apt to catch at faults; disposed to find fault or to cavil; eager to object; difficult to please.

A captious and suspicious age.
Stillingfleet.

I am sensible I have not disposed my materials to abide the test of a captious controversy.
Bwike.

2. Fitted to harass, perplex, or insnare; insidious; troublesome.

Captious restraints on navigation.
Bancroft.

Syn. -- Caviling, carping, fault-finding; censorious; hypercritical; peevish, fretful; perverse; troublesome. -- Captious , caviling , Carping . A captious person is one who has a fault-finding habit or manner, or is disposed to catch at faults, errors, etc., with quarrelsome intent; a caviling person is disposed to raise objections on frivolous grounds; carping implies that one is given to ill-natured, persistent, or unreasonable fault- finding, or picking up of the words or actions of others.

Caviling is the carping of argument, carping the caviling of ill temper.
C. J. Smith.

Captiously adverb In a captious manner.

Captiousness noun Captious disposition or manner.

Captivate transitive verb [ imperfect & past participle Captivated ; present participle & verbal noun Captivating .] [ Latin captivatus , past participle of captivare to capture, from captivus captive. See Captive .]
1. To take prisoner; to capture; to subdue. [ Obsolete]

Their woes whom fortune captivates .
Shak.

2. To acquire ascendancy over by reason of some art or attraction; to fascinate; to charm; as, Cleopatra captivated Antony; the orator captivated all hearts.

Small landscapes of captivating loveliness.
W. Irving.

Syn. -- To enslave; subdue; overpower; charm; enchant; bewitch; facinate; capture; lead captive.

Captivate p. adjective [ Latin captivatus .] Taken prisoner; made captive; insnared; charmed.

Women have been captivate ere now.
Shak.

Captivating adjective Having power to captivate or charm; fascinating; as, captivating smiles. -- Cap"ti*va`ting*ly , adverb

Captivation noun [ Latin capticatio .] The act of captivating. [ R.]

The captivation of our understanding.
Bp. Hall.

Captive noun [ Latin captivus , from capere to take: confer French captif . See Caitiff .]
1. A prisoner taken by force or stratagem, esp., by an enemy, in war; one kept in bondage or in the power of another.

Then, when I am thy captive , talk of chains.
Milton.

2. One charmed or subdued by beaty, excellence, or affection; one who is captivated.

Captive adjective
1. Made prisoner, especially in war; held in bondage or in confinement.

A poor, miserable, captive thrall.
Milton.

2. Subdued by love; charmed; captivated.

Even in so short a space, my wonan's heart
Grossly grew captive to his honey words.
Shak.

3. Of or pertaining to bondage or confinement; serving to confine; as, captive chains; captive hours.

Captive transitive verb [ imperfect & past participle Captived ; present participle & verbal noun Captiving .] To take prisoner; to capture.

Their inhabitans slaughtered and captived .
Burke.

Captivity noun [ Latin captivitas : confer French captivité .]
1. The state of being a captive or a prisoner.

More celebrated in his captivity that in his greatest triumphs.
Dryden.

2. A state of being under control; subjection of the will or affections; bondage.

Sink in the soft captivity together.
Addison.

Syn. -- Imprisonment; confinement; bondage; subjection; servitude; slavery; thralldom; serfdom.

Captor noun [ Latin , a cather (of animals), from caper to take.] One who captures any person or thing, as a prisoner or a prize.

Capture noun [ Latin capture , from caper to take: confer French capture . See Caitiff , and confer aptive .]

1. The act of seizing by force, or getting possession of by superior power or by stratagem; as, the capture of an enemy, a vessel, or a criminal.

Even with regard to captures made at sea.
Bluckstone.

2. The securing of an object of strife or desire, as by the power of some attraction.

3. The thing taken by force, surprise, or stratagem; a prize; prey.

Syn. -- Seizure; apprehension; arrest; detention.

Capture transitive verb [ imperfect & past participle Captured ; present participle & verbal noun Capturing .] To seize or take possession of by force, surprise, or stratagem; to overcome and hold; to secure by effort.

Her heart is like some fortress that has been captured .
W. Ivring.

Capuccio noun [ Italian cappucio . See Capoch .] A capoch or hood. [ Obsolete] Spenser.

Capuched adjective [ See Capoch .] Cover with, or as with, a hood. [ Obsolete] Sir T. Browne.

Capuchin noun [ French capucin a monk who wears a cowl, from Italian cappuccio hood. See Capoch .]

1. (Eccl.) A Franciscan monk of the austere branch established in 1526 by Matteo di Baschi, distinguished by wearing the long pointed cowl or capoch of St. Francis.

A bare-footed and long-bearded capuchin .
Sir W. Scott.

2. A garment for women, consisting of a cloak and hood, resembling, or supposed to resemble, that of capuchin monks.

3. (Zoology) (a) A long-tailed South American monkey ( Cabus capucinus ), having the forehead naked and wrinkled, with the hair on the crown reflexed and resembling a monk's cowl, the rest being of a grayish white; -- called also capucine monkey , weeper , sajou , sapajou , and sai . (b) Other species of Cabus , as C. fatuellus (the brown or horned capucine .), C. albifrons (the cararara ), and C. apella . (c) A variety of the domestic pigeon having a hoodlike tuft of feathers on the head and sides of the neck.

Capuchin nun , one of an austere order of Franciscan nuns which came under Capuchin rule in 1538. The order had recently been founded by Maria Longa.

Capucine noun See Capuchin , 3.

Capulet noun (Far.) Same as Capellet .

Capulin (-lĭn) noun [ Spanish capuli .] The Mexican cherry ( Prunus Capollin ).

Caput (kā"pŭt) noun ; plural Capita (kăp"ĭ*tȧ). [ Latin , the head.]
1. (Anat.) The head; also, a knoblike protuberance or capitulum.

2. The top or superior part of a thing.

3. (Eng.) The council or ruling body of the University of Cambridge prior to the constitution of 1856.

Your caputs and heads of colleges.
Lamb.

Caput mortuum [ Latin , dead head.] (Old Chem.) The residuum after distillation or sublimation; hence, worthless residue.

Capybara noun [ Spanish capibara , from the native name.] (Zoology) A large South American rodent ( Hydrochærus capybara ) Living on the margins of lakes and rivers. It is the largest extant rodent, being about three feet long, and half that in height. It somewhat resembles the Guinea pig, to which it is related; -- called also cabiai and water hog .

Car noun [ Old French car , char , French cahr , from Latin carrus , Wagon: a Celtic word; confer W. car , Armor. karr , Ir. & Gael. carr . confer Chariot .]
1. A small vehicle moved on wheels; usually, one having but two wheels and drawn by one horse; a cart.

2. A vehicle adapted to the rails of a railroad. [ U. S.]

» In England a railroad passenger car is called a railway carriage ; a freight car a goods wagon ; a platform car a goods truck ; a baggage car a van . But styles of car introduced into England from America are called cars ; as, tram car . Pullman car . See Train .

3. A chariot of war or of triumph; a vehicle of splendor, dignity, or solemnity. [ Poetic].

The gilded car of day.
Milton.

The towering car , the sable steeds.
Tennyson.

4. (Astron.) The stars also called Charles's Wain, the Great Bear, or the Dipper.

The Pleiads, Hyads, and the Northern Car .
Dryden.

5. The cage of a lift or elevator.

6. The basket, box, or cage suspended from a balloon to contain passengers, ballast, etc.

7. A floating perforated box for living fish. [ U. S.]

Car coupling , or Car coupler , a shackle or other device for connecting the cars in a railway train. [ U. S.] -- Dummy car (Railroad) , a car containing its own steam power or locomotive. -- Freight car (Railrood) , a car for the transportation of merchandise or other goods. [ U. S.] -- Hand car (Railroad) , a small car propelled by hand, used by railroad laborers, etc. [ U. S.] -- Horse car , or Street car , an omnibus car, draw by horses or other power upon rails laid in the streets. [ U. S.] -- Palace car , Drawing-room car , Sleeping car , Parlor car , etc. (Railroad) , cars especially designed and furnished for the comfort of travelers.

Car mile (Railroads) A mile traveled by a single car, taken as a unit of computation, as in computing the average travel of each car of a system during a given period.

Car mileage (Railroads) (a) Car miles collectively. (b) The amount paid by one road the use of cars of another road.

Car wheel A flanged wheel of a railway car or truck.

Carabao noun [ Native name.] (Zoology) The water buffalo. [ Phil. Islands]

Carabid adjective (Zoology) Of, pertaining to, or resembling, the genus Carabus or family Carabidæ . -- noun One of the Carabidæ , a family of active insectivorous beetles.