Capitalising

Part of speech: verb

Definitions

1. Changing a letter from lowercase to uppercase to start a sentence or name ; supplying money or assets to fund a business or project
2. Transforming a small letter into a large letter in writing or printing ; investing capital or resources into a company or venture
3. Making a letter appear in its uppercase form ; allocating funds or resources to support or develop an enterprise

Etymology: The verb "capitalise" comes from "capital," and the link runs back to the Latin "caput," meaning "head." The noun "capital" was used for the chief city or the principal sum of money, and the verb grew from those senses. Writers used "capitalise" first in the financial sense of turning income into a sum of capital, and only later in the typographical sense of writing letters in capital form. The two meanings of "capitalising" look unrelated, but they share the idea of the head or main part. A capital letter is the head of a word in the sense of its leading form, while capital money is the principal sum that other returns grow from. Printers and bookkeepers were working with the same root without knowing it would later become a single word in two trades.

Synonyms: exploiting, taking advantage

Antonyms: squandering, wasting