Capitol Meaning
/ˈkæp.ɪ.təl/Definition, CEFR level C1, pronunciation, examples, and quiz.
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Definition
nounAny building or complex of buildings in which a legislature meets.
nounAny citadel or complex of buildings similar to the Roman Capitol, particularly Italian and Roman citadels including temples to Jupiter, Juno, and Minerva.
Sentence Examples
A banking scandal is sweeping across Capitol Hill.
The heads of 16 city councils met at the state capitol.
CEFR Practice Quiz
The lawmakers met at the state ____ to debate the new bill.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
The ____ building is where the state legislature meets to make laws.
Word Origin & History
From Middle English Capitolie, via Anglo-Norman capitolie, Old French capitoile, from Latin Capitōlium (“Capitoline Hill, its temples; any similar citadel”), from the oblique stem of caput (“head”) + -ō (noun-forming suffix) or -ōlus (“-ole”, diminutive suffix) + -ium (toponym-forming suffix). Compare Latin capitō and capitulum. As a French magistrate, via French capitoul, from Capitole, the town hall of Toulouse. Doublet of Capitolium and capitoul.
Literary Quotations & Historical Citations
"ON January 20, 1953, I stood on a platform at the East Front of the Capitol in Washington to take the oath, administered by Chief Justice Fred M. Vinson, as the thirty-fourth President of the United States — an office I was to hold for eight years."
— 1963, Dwight Eisenhower, Mandate for Change 1953-1956, Garden City, New York: Doubleday & Company, →LCCN, →OCLC, page 3:
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CEFR Practice Quiz
The lawmakers met at the state ____ to debate the new bill.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
The ____ building is where the state legislature meets to make laws.