Capital vs Capitol: Difference and Comparison

Homophones- the most confusing yet enthralling part of English Grammar. These words sound similar when spelled, but differ in usage, spelling, meaning, etc.

For instance, the words Capital and Capitol, these words are poles apart in definition and usage, still sound the same.

Spelling-wise they only differ in one letter, I.e., a and o, some may even believe the word capitol is a typo of the word capital, but they are real and different from each other. 

Key Takeaways

1. Capital refers to a city that serves as the seat of government for a country or state, while a capitol is a building where a legislative body convenes.
2. Capitals function as political, economic, and cultural centers, whereas capitals are specific to legislative activities.
3. Capitals house various government institutions, while capitols are dedicated to the legislative process.

Capital vs Capitol 

Capito refers to a building that houses a legislative body, such as the U.S. Capitol building in Washington D.C. or the Capitol building. Capital refers to a city or town, wealth or assets, or a specific letter of the alphabet, while capital refers to a building where a legislative body meets.

We classify the word capital as a noun and an adjective. As a noun, Capital denotes an important city formally known as the Capital city. A country can have one or more capital cities.

For instance, India has two major capital cities- Mumbai- the financial capital, New Delhi- the official capital of India. Whereas, as an adjective, the word capital signifies something of great importance. 

On the other hand, the word Capitol is only classified as a noun. As a noun, it depicts the official legislature building of a country.

Frequently, the word Capitol is only used to refer to the United States Capitol in Washington D.C. It is a location where all the important political decisions are decided and announced.

Every country has a Capitol wherein the ruling party meets to discuss issues and ideas. 

Comparison Table

Parameters of Comparison	Capital	Capitol
Type/ Classification	Noun and Adjective	Noun
Definition	The prime/ official city of a country	Building/ Complex where the assembly meets
Popularly refers to	Financial Capital	The United States Capitol
Additional meanings	Capital letter, funds, something of great importance, etc.	Religious Centre of Rome (Temple of Jupiter in Rome)
In Sentences	We should begin a sentence with a capital letter	The capitol building of some countries is in the middle of the capital city.

What is Capital? 

Aforementioned, capital is a word that is included in the category of a noun and an adjective. As a noun, the word capital represents a city of prime importance for a country.

For instance, financial capital looks after the financial decisions and transactions of the country. It acts as the economic bone of the country.

As an adjective, the word capital could mean the uppercase alphabets (Capital Letters). 

The word capital originated from the Latin word- Caput, which denotes the head or the apex. The term capital describes a city where the ruling government visits and discusses plans.

Usually, the capital city of a country is the largest in the country. 

The constitution of the country declares a city as the capital city. Usually, the ruling government operates from the capital city, but sometimes, the official capital and the government are distinguished from each other. 

Because of the vast infrastructures of some countries, two or more cities are declared as the capital cities to bifurcate the workload. For instance, in India, Mumbai handles financial decisions.

While they make the rest of the government decisions in New Delhi, Chennai controls all the culture-related decisions and is popularly known as the Cultural Capital of India. 

In Economics, the word capital denotes funds or money. Usually, companies/ industries use this capital fund to generate more income/ funds/ profit. Sometimes, the word capital could also mean the death penalty.

For instance, He committed a capital crime that led to his death. All these definitions conclude that the word capital means something of chief significance. 

What is Capitol? 

As mentioned above, the word Capitol is strictly a noun. It denotes a building or a complex where the state or the national assembly/ legislature consistently meets to discuss diplomatic decisions.

Often, we use the word capitol to describe the United States Capitol in the capital city/ federal city of the United States- Washington D.C. 

As the name suggests, the United States Capitol is in the Capitol Hills of Washington D.C.

It is the only location where the congress of the United States conducts meetings before announcing any significant decision. 

Currently, the capitol is not at the center of Washington, but it is still the origin point for the street numbering system. 

The word Capitol (Derived from Latin) originated from the Temple of Jupiter in the Capitoline Hills of Rome. They consider it as the religious center of Rome.

After the official United States Capitol was entrenched, several nations adopted the word capitol for their legislative assembly buildings. Some states in the United States have their capitols. 

Back in the 18th Century, they also used capitols as a religious center for Sunday prayers.

This practice became quite popular in the 1800s as on Sundays, the capital city of Washington transformed into a spiritual location as many prayers were happening in every street.

The Capitol building of every country is exteriorly and interiorly well-built and looks magnificent. 

Main Differences Between Capital and Capitol 

1. The word capital acts as a noun and an adjective, whereas the word capitol strictly acts as a noun. 
2. The word capital denotes a prime city from where the government operates, while the word capitol denotes a building where the assembly regularly meets. 
3. We derived the word capital from the Latin word Caput’ while we derived the word capitol from the Latin word Capitolium. 
4. The word Capital has several other meanings, like the uppercase alphabets, death penalty, funds, whereas the word capitol has a single meaning- legislature building. 
5. The word capital popularly refers to the financial/ economic capital of the country, whereas the word Capitol popularly refers to the United States Capitol. 
6. The entire city falls under the word Capital, while only a building or group of buildings fall under Capitol. 

References  

1. https://www.taylorfrancis.com/chapters/edit/10.4324/9780203481561-11/seven-types-capital-city-peter-hall 
2. https://books.google.com/books?hl=en&lr=&id=S8dTv-zVTswC&oi=fnd&pg=PA5&dq=washington+capitol&ots=roe7teDDCs&sig=HbKQ6GwsWL7Ik1zuFmtTH9sUPcM 

Last Updated : 24 July, 2023