CAPITOL vs. CAPITAL
My friend James was confused about the proper usage of the above words.
He is not alone. At this moment in time, there are 156,000 hits on Google for "capitol capital grammar".
The word capitol comes from the Roman captiolium which was the name of the temple of Jupiter. A derivative of the word designated the principal structure in a Roman colony.
The first documented use of the work in America is in a dispatch dated May 18, 1699, from Francis Nicholson, Royal Governor of Virginia. He recommended the House of Burgess move the seal of government from Jamestown to what was then called Middle Plantation. Nicholson wanted to build a house of government that would “for ever hereafter be called and known by the name of the Capitol.”
The word was adopted and has been used ever since to mean “the building in which the functions of government are carried out.” (Webster)
The word capital denotes “a seat of government”; it derives from the Latin caput, head.
The name Capitol labels the building where Congress meets in Washington. It derives from the name Capitoline Hill, one of the seven hills of ancient Rome.
These two words are very similar but not interchangeable. A "capitol" is the building that houses the center of state government.
"Capital" refers to the city where the capitol is located and state government resides.
What is a capitol? It is a building.
The only capitol city is Washington D.C.
All of the states have capital cities.
He is not alone. At this moment in time, there are 156,000 hits on Google for "capitol capital grammar".
The word capitol comes from the Roman captiolium which was the name of the temple of Jupiter. A derivative of the word designated the principal structure in a Roman colony.
The first documented use of the work in America is in a dispatch dated May 18, 1699, from Francis Nicholson, Royal Governor of Virginia. He recommended the House of Burgess move the seal of government from Jamestown to what was then called Middle Plantation. Nicholson wanted to build a house of government that would “for ever hereafter be called and known by the name of the Capitol.”
The word was adopted and has been used ever since to mean “the building in which the functions of government are carried out.” (Webster)
The word capital denotes “a seat of government”; it derives from the Latin caput, head.
The name Capitol labels the building where Congress meets in Washington. It derives from the name Capitoline Hill, one of the seven hills of ancient Rome.
These two words are very similar but not interchangeable. A "capitol" is the building that houses the center of state government.
"Capital" refers to the city where the capitol is located and state government resides.
What is a capitol? It is a building.
The only capitol city is Washington D.C.
All of the states have capital cities.
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