capacity English · revision 3831

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=borrowing|attested=early 15th century|origins=la capiō}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: /kəˈpæs.ə.ti/^(Roach et al. 2011)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[inh|enm|capacite]],^(Etymonline)^(MWU 2024) [[bor|frm|capacité|t=ability to hold]],^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988)^(NODE 1998) from [[la|capācitās|t=breadth; capability of holding much]] (accusative capācitātem),^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988) from [[m|la|capāx|t=able to hold much]],^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988) from [[m|la|capere|t=to take, hold]],^(Etymonline)^(NODE 1998) from [[ine-pro|*kap-|t=to grasp]].^(Etymonline) It is related to [[capable]], [[capacious]] and [[capture]].^(MWU 2024)^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ The ability to contain, size or extent, and also legal, moral or intellectual ability: the early 15th century in Etymonline,^(Etymonline) probably before 1425 in translations of Guy de Chauliac's ''Grande Chirurgie'' and Higden's ''Polychronicon'' according to Barnhart.^(Barnhart 1988) The OED's first example is from 1481.^(OED 1989)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ The figurative sense, mental capacity, is from 1578.^(OED 1989) The power of an apparatus to store electricity is from 1777,^(Etymonline)^(OED 1989) and of absorbing heat or moisture from 1793.^(OED 1989) The power of holding a certain quantity, as of traffic, is from 1885,^(Etymonline)^(OED 1989) and the largest audience a place can hold from 1908, hence ''a capacity crowd''.^(Etymonline)^(OED 1989) The industrial sense, the ability to produce, is from 1931.^(Etymonline)^(OED 1989) Merriam-Webster dates the adjective, “filling to capacity”, to 1897.^(MWU 2024)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * early 15th century – ability to contain.^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * 1578 – mental capacity.^(OED 1989)

+ * 1777 – electrical capacity.^(Etymonline)^(OED 1989)

+ * 1885 – carrying capacity.^(Etymonline)^(OED 1989)

+ * 1897 – adjective.^(MWU 2024)

+ * 1908 – a full house.^(Etymonline)^(OED 1989)

+ * 1931 – productive capacity.^(Etymonline)^(OED 1989)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Noun===

+ # The ability to receive, hold or absorb; [[volume]].^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)

+ # The largest amount that can be contained: ''filled to capacity''.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)

+ # Ability to do or produce something; capability.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)

+ # Mental ability.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)

+ # A position or role: ''in her capacity as chair''.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)

+ # Legal competence.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)

+

+ ===Adjective===

+ # Filling a space to its limit: ''a capacity crowd''.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[incapacity]]

+ * [[overcapacity]]

+ * [[carrying capacity]]

+ * [[diminished capacity]]

+ * [[heat capacity]]

+ * [[molar heat capacity]]

+ * [[vital capacity]]

+ * [[field capacity]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[capacious]]

+ * [[capacitance]]

+ * [[capacitate]]

+ * [[capacitive]]

+ * [[capacitation]]

+ * [[capacitor]]

+ * [[capable]]

+ * [[capture]]

+ * [[captive]]

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}