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capitalization

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Etymology and origin of the English word capitalization

Confidence
Established
Formation
Derivation
First attested
1831 Edinburgh Review
Ultimate origins
Old French capitalEnglish -ize,-ation
Etymology tree
inherited borrowed derived
English capital
English capitalize
English capitalization
From the same root
English capitalist ← capital

Pronunciation

  • /ˌkæpɪtəlaɪˈzeɪʃən/[1]

Etymology

It is formed from English capitalize + -ation,[2][3][4] and the OED compares the earlier nouns capitalizing and, for the writing sense, capitalling.[2] Merriam-Webster takes it from French capitalisation, from capitaliser.[5] The verb is formed from capital and -ize;[2][3] Etymonline derives its writing sense from the noun meaning a capital letter and its financial sense from the noun meaning wealth.[3] The OED compares the French verb (1770), Spanish capitalizar and Italian capitalizzare (1829).[2]

Earliest recorded meaning

The making of an industry or economy work on capitalist lines: 1831, in the Edinburgh Review.[2] Merriam-Webster dates its first sense to 1852[5] and Dictionary.com to 1855–60.[4]

Semantic evolution

The financial senses came first: converting something into capital, or reckoning an annual income by its capital value (1832, in the Times), then the sum so obtained, including the market value of all of a company's shares (1864), and the provision of capital for a business (1889).[2][6] The writing sense, putting text in capital letters, is recorded from 1835 in the OED[2][6] but only from 1847 in Etymonline, which dates the financial sense to 1860.[3] A rare use for making a town a capital city appears in 1865.[2][6] The American Heritage Dictionary adds the accountant's senses: the long-term financing of a firm, and the stated value of its capital stock.[7]

Timeline

  • 1831 – making an economy function on capitalist principles.[2]
  • 1832 – conversion into capital; valuing an income by its capital value.[2][6]
  • 1835 – writing or printing in capitals.[2][6] Etymonline dates this sense to 1847.[3]
  • 1864 – the resulting sum; the market value of a company's shares.[2]
  • 1865 – conversion into a capital city (obsolete, rare).[2][6]
  • 1889 – the provision of capital for a business.[2]

Meanings

Noun

  1. The use of capital letters in writing or printing, or the changing of text from lower to upper case.[7][2][5]
  2. The act of converting something into capital, or of stating an income as its capital value; also the sum that results.[2][7][5]
  3. The total long-term financing of a company, such as its stock, retained earnings and long-term debt.[7][5]
  4. The total market value of a company's shares: The firm's capitalization doubled in a year.[2]
  5. The total par or stated value of a company's capital stock.[7][5]
  6. The provision of capital for a business.[2]

Word family

  • recapitalization

References

  1. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r Oxford English Dictionary Online (accessed March 2026), Oxford: Oxford University Press
  3. ^ a b c d e Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  4. ^ a b Dictionary.com Unabridged (2016), based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, New York: Random House
  5. ^ a b c d e f Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
  6. ^ a b c d e f Kay, Christian; Roberts, Jane; Samuels, Michael; Wotherspoon, Irené, eds. (2009), Historical Thesaurus of the Oxford English Dictionary, Oxford: Oxford University Press; online edition (2024)
  7. ^ a b c d e The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (online 2024), 5th ed., Boston: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
Cite this entry

“Capitalization.” Etymologically, 2 Nov. 2026, etymologically.com/en/capitalization. Accessed 2 Nov. 2026.

Last edited on . ·