capitalist English · revision 39606

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=derivation|attested=1774, P. Francis, translation of I. de Pinto, Essay on Circulation|origins=la caput}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * /ˈkæp.ɪ.tə.lɪst/^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It was formed [[af|en|capital|-ist]] in the sense of capital as wealth,^(OED 2026)^(Barnhart 1988)^(Dictionary.com 2016) after [[fr|capitaliste]],^(OED 2026)^(Etymonline)^(Hoad 1986) which itself followed [[m|nl|capitalist]].^(OED 2026)^(MWU 2024) The Dutch word meant a person subject to a capital tax (1621) and then a rich person (1683); French borrowed it for the same tax in the Netherlands (1678) and used it for an investor from the mid-18th century,^(OED 2026) and Etymonline calls the French word a term of reproach coined in the Revolution.^(Etymonline) Merriam-Webster derives the English word from French, Dutch or German, with the Dutch word taken from [[de|Kapitalist]].^(MWU 2024) The noun ''capital'' "wealth, stock" goes back to [[la-med|capitāle|t=stock, property]], from [[m|la|capitālis|t=of the head, chief]], from [[m|la|caput|t=head]].^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ A person who owns capital, especially one who invests it in business for profit: 1774, in Philip Francis's translation of Isaac de Pinto's ''Essay on Circulation''.^(OED 2026) Etymonline and Barnhart date the word to 1791, Barnhart to a use by George Washington;^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988) Merriam-Webster gives 1781.^(MWU 2024)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ The Shorter Oxford notes that the noun has often been used disparagingly.^(SOED 2002) The adjective, of capitalists or of capitalism, followed in 1817 in the OED;^(OED 2026) the Shorter Oxford dates it to the mid-19th century and Merriam-Webster to 1845.^(SOED 2002)^(MWU 2024) The noun later came to mean also a supporter of [[capitalism]] as an economic system,^(OED 2026)^(AHD 2024) a word Barnhart dates to 1854, in Thackeray's ''The Newcomes'';^(Barnhart 1988) Etymonline says that the sense of an economic system favouring capitalists dates from 1872 and was at first a socialists' term of disparagement.^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * 1774 – a person who owns and invests capital.^(OED 2026)

+ * 1781 – Merriam-Webster's first date.^(MWU 2024)

+ * 1791 – Etymonline's and Barnhart's first date.^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * 1817 – adjective, of capitalists or capitalism.^(OED 2026)

+ * 1854 – the related noun ''capitalism''.^(Barnhart 1988)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Noun===

+ # A person who has [[capital]], especially one who invests it in business for [[profit]].^(MWU 2024)^(OED 2026)

+ # A supporter of [[capitalism]].^(AHD 2024)^(MWU 2024)

+ # Broadly, a wealthy person.^(AHD 2024)^(MWU 2024)

+

+ ===Adjective===

+ # Owning capital, or practising, supporting or characterized by capitalism: ''capitalist economies''.^(MWU 2024)^(OED 2026)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[capitalistically]]

+ * [[anticapitalist]]

+ * [[noncapitalist]]

+ * [[precapitalist]]

+ * [[procapitalist]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[capital]]

+ * [[capitalism]]

+ * [[cattle]]

+ * [[chattel]]

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}