DICT.TW Dictionary Taiwan

 Small a. [Compar. Smaller superl. Smallest.]
 1. Having little size, compared with other things of the same kind; little in quantity or degree; diminutive; not large or extended in dimension; not great; not much; inconsiderable; as, a small man; a small river.
 To compare
 Great things with small.   --Milton.
 2. Being of slight consequence; feeble in influence or importance; unimportant; trivial; insignificant; as, a small fault; a small business.
 3. Envincing little worth or ability; not large-minded; -- sometimes, in reproach, paltry; mean.
    A true delineation of the smallest man is capable of interesting the greatest man.   --Carlyle.
 4. Not prolonged in duration; not extended in time; short; as, after a small space.
 5. Weak; slender; fine; gentle; soft; not loud. “A still, small voice.”
 Great and small,of all ranks or degrees; -- used especially of persons.  “His quests, great and small.” --Chaucer.
 Small arms, muskets, rifles, pistols, etc., in distinction from cannon.
 Small beer. See under Beer.
 Small coal. (a) Little coals of wood formerly used to light fires. --Gay. (b) Coal about the size of a hazelnut, separated from the coarser parts by screening.
 Small craft Naut., a vessel, or vessels in general, of a small size.
 Small fruits. See under Fruit.
 Small hand, a certain size of paper. See under Paper.
 Small hours. See under Hour.
 Small letter. Print., a lower-case letter. See Lower-case, and Capital letter, under Capital, a.
 Small piece, a Scotch coin worth about 2¼d. sterling, or about 4½cents.
 Small register. See the Note under 1st Register, 7.
 Small stuff Naut., spun yarn, marline, and the smallest kinds of rope. --R. H. Dana, Jr.
 Small talk, light or trifling conversation; chitchat.
 Small wares Com., various small textile articles, as tapes, braid, tringe, and the like. --M‘Culloch.

 cap·i·tal n.
 1. Arch. The head or uppermost member of a column, pilaster, etc.  It consists generally of three parts, abacus, bell (or vase), and necking.  See these terms, and Column.
 2.  Geog. The seat of government; the chief city or town in a country; a metropolis. “A busy and splendid capital”
 3.  Money, property, or stock employed in trade, manufactures, etc.; the sum invested or lent, as distinguished from the income or interest. See Capital stock, under Capital, a.
 4. Polit. Econ. That portion of the produce of industry, which may be directly employed either to support human beings or to assist in production.
 Note: ☞ When wealth is used to assist production it is called capital.  The capital of a civilized community includes fixed capital (i.e. buildings, machines, and roads used in the course of production and exchange) and circulating capital (i.e., food, fuel, money, etc., spent in the course of production and exchange).
 5. Anything which can be used to increase one's power or influence.
    He tried to make capital out of his rival's discomfiture.   --London Times.
 6. Fort. An imaginary line dividing a bastion, ravelin, or other work, into two equal parts.
 7. A chapter, or section, of a book. [Obs.]
    Holy St. Bernard hath said in the 59th capital.   --Sir W. Scott.
 8. Print. See Capital letter, under Capital, a.
 Active capital. See under Active,
 Small capital Print., a small capital letter; informally referred to (in the plural) as small caps; as, the technical terms are listed in small caps. See under Capital, a.
 To live on one's capital, to consume one's capital without producing or accumulating anything to replace it.
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 Cap·i·tal a.
 1. Of or pertaining to the head. [Obs.]
 Needs must the Serpent now his capital bruise
 Expect with mortal pain.   --Milton.
 2. Having reference to, or involving, the forfeiture of the head or life; affecting life; punishable with death; as, capital trials; capital punishment.
    Many crimes that are capital among us.   --Swift.
    To put to death a capital offender.   --Milton.
 3. First in importance; chief; principal.
    A capital article in religion   --Atterbury.
    Whatever is capital and essential in Christianity.   --I. Taylor.
 4. Chief, in a political sense, as being the seat of the general government of a state or nation; as, Washington and Paris are capital cities.
 5. Of first rate quality; excellent; as, a capital speech or song. [Colloq.]
 Capital letter [F, lettre capitale] Print., a leading or heading letter, used at the beginning of a sentence and as the first letter of certain words, distinguished, for the most part, both by different form and larger size, from the small (lower-case) letters, which form the greater part of common print or writing.
 Small capital letters have the form of capital letters and height of the body of the lower-case letters.
 Capital stock, money, property, or stock invested in any business, or the enterprise of any corporation or institution.
 Syn: -- Chief; leading; controlling; prominent.
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 capital letter
      n : one of the large alphabetic characters used as the first
          letter in writing or printing proper names and sometimes
          for emphasis; "printers once kept the type for capitals
          and for small letters in separate cases; capitals were
          kept in the upper half of the type case and so became
          known as upper-case letters" [syn: capital, upper case,
           upper-case letter, majuscule] [ant: small letter]