- What is the difference between capitol and capital, and how do they interact with each other in the capitol complex?
Capitol versus capital. They sound the same, and they almost look the same. Only one letter differentiate these seemingly interchangeable nouns. It is common and easy to mismatch these words. Most of the time, I use capitol and capital as I please thinking they mean virtually the same thing. While they are very similar in root word and meaning, capitol and capital are very different words.
Both capitol and capital come from the Latin word “caput” meaning “the head.” However, capitol comes from the root word “capitolina.” Capitolina dates back to ancient Rome and its founding. It is believed that Rome was founded on the hill of Capitolina. Capital evolved from the root word “capitale” meaning “wealth.” As you can see, these both have very similar roots, but they are also very different.
Capitol can be defined as the specific house of government for a nation, state or city. It is a very specific form of the word where capital can be broader and loosely defined. Capitol typically indicates one building. For instance, the Capitol of Austin would be the capitol building on Congress Avenue. It is one specific place where most of the legislation takes place.
Further, capital is very broad and loosely defined. In Vale’s excerpt, capital means the area surrounding the capitol building where legislation occurs. However, capital has various other meanings. In our example above, Capitol was the capitol building in Austin. Capital would include all of Austin, Texas. Therefore, Austin is the capital of Texas because the capitol building is in the city.
Finally, the capitol complex deals with the Capitol and the capital working together as one. Both the legislative building and the city surrounding the building can be classified as the capitol complex.