capacity

Meanings

1. 1
   noun

   a specified function

   In my capacity of director I have to go to many boring meetings.

2. 2
   noun

   the maximum production possible

   the plant is working at 80 per cent capacity

3. 3
   noun

   tolerance for alcohol

   I drank beyond my capacity.

4. 4
   noun

   capability to perform or produce

   Among their gifts is their capacity for true altruism.

5. 5
   noun

   (computer science) the amount of information (in bytes) that can be stored on a disk drive

   the capacity of a hard disk drive is usually expressed in megabytes

6. 6
   noun

   the amount that can be contained

   the gas tank has a capacity of 12 gallons

7. 7
   noun

   Capability; the ability to perform some task.

   Surprisingly few men are lacking in capacity, but they fail because they are lacking in application. Either they never learn how to work, or, having learned, they are too indolent to apply themselves with the seriousness and the attention that is necessary to solve important problems.

8. 8
   noun

   the susceptibility of something to a particular treatment

Etymology

Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *kap- Proto-Indo-European *-yéti Proto-Indo-European *kapyéti Proto-Italic *kapjō Old Latin kapiō Latin capiō Proto-Indo-European *-eh₂-k-s Proto-Italic *-āks Latin -āx Latin capāx Proto-Indo-European *-teh₂ Proto-Indo-European *-ts Proto-Indo-European *-teh₂ts Proto-Italic *-tāts Latin -tās Latin capācitāsder. Old French capacitebor. Middle English capacite English capacity From Middle English capacite, from Old French capacite, from Latin capācitās, from capāx (“able to hold much”), from capiō (“to hold, to contain, to take, to understand”).