Part 66

Cap*size" (?), v. t. & i. [imp. & p. p. Capsized (#); p. pr. & vb. n. Capsizing.] [Cf. Sp. cabecear to nod, pitch, capuzar, chapuzar, to sink (a vessel) by the head; both fr. L. caput head.] To upset or overturn, as a vessel or other body.

But what if carrying sail capsize the boat? Byron.

Cap"size` (?), n. An upset or overturn.

Cap"*square (?), n. (Gun.) A metal covering plate which passes over the trunnions of a cannon, and holds it in place.

Cap"stan (?), n. [F. cabestan, fr. Sp. cabestrante, cabrestante, fr. cabestrar to bind with a halter, fr. cabestrohalter, fr. L. capistrum halter, fr. capere to hold (see Capacious); or perh. the Spanish is fr. L. caper goat + stans, p. pr. of stare to stand; cf. F. chŔvre she-goat, also a machine for raising heavy weights.] A vertical cleated drum or cylinder, revolving on an upright spindle, and surmounted by a drumhead with sockets for bars or levers. It is much used, especially on shipboard, for moving or raising heavy weights or exerting great power by traction upon a rope or cable, passing around the drum. It is operated either by steam power or by a number of men walking around the capstan, each pushing on the end of a lever fixed in its socket. [Sometimes spelt Capstern, but improperly.]

Capstan bar, one of the long bars or levers by which the capstan is worked; a handspike.. -- To pawl the capstan, to drop the pawls so that they will catch in the notches of the pawl ring, and prevent the capstan from turning back. -- To rig the capstan, to prepare the for use, by putting the bars in the sockets. -- To surge the capstan, to slack the tension of the rope or cable wound around it.

Cap"stone` (?), n. (Paleon.) A fossil echinus of the genus Cannulus; -- so called from its supposed resemblance to a cap.

{ Cap"su*lar (?), Cap"su*la*ry (?), } a. [Cf. F. capsulaire.] Of or pertaining to a capsule; having the nature of a capsule; hollow and fibrous.

Capsular ligament (Anat.), a ligamentous bag or capsule surrounding many movable joints in the skeleton.

{ Cap"su*late (?), Cap"su*la`ted (?), } a. Inclosed in a capsule, or as in a chest or box.

Cap"sule (?), n. [L. capsula a little box or chest, fr. capsa chest, case, fr. capere to take, contain: cf. F. capsule.] 1. (Bot.) a dry fruit or pod which is made up of several parts or carpels, and opens to discharge the seeds, as, the capsule of the poppy, the flax, the lily, etc.

2. (Chem.) (a) A small saucer of clay for roasting or melting samples of ores, etc.; a scorifier. (b) a small, shallow, evaporating dish, usually of porcelain.

3. (Med.) A small cylindrical or spherical gelatinous envelope in which nauseous or acrid doses are inclosed to be swallowed.

4. (Anat.) A membranous sac containing fluid, or investing an organ or joint; as, the capsule of the lens of the eye. Also, a capsulelike organ.

5. A metallic seal or cover for closing a bottle.

6. A small cup or shell, as of metal, for a percussion cap, cartridge, etc.

Atrabiliary capsule. See under Atrabiliary. -- Glisson's capsule, a membranous envelope, entering the liver along with the portal vessels and insheathing the latter in their course through the organ. -- Suprarenal capsule, an organ of unknown function, above or in front of each kidney.

Cap"tain (kăp"t&ibreve;n), n. [OE. capitain, captain, OF. capitain, F. capitaine (cf. Sp. capitan, It. capitano), LL. capitaneus, capitanus, fr. L. caput the head. See under Chief, and cf. Chieftain.] 1. A head, or chief officer; as: (a) The military officer who commands a company, troop, or battery, or who has the rank entitling him to do so though he may be employed on other service. (b) An officer in the United States navy, next above a commander and below a commodore, and ranking with a colonel in the army. (c) By courtesy, an officer actually commanding a vessel, although not having the rank of captain. (d) The master or commanding officer of a merchant vessel. (e) One in charge of a portion of a ship's company; as, a captain of a top, captain of a gun, etc. (f) The foreman of a body of workmen. (g) A person having authority over others acting in concert; as, the captain of a boat's crew; the captain of a football team.

A trainband captain eke was he. Cowper.

The Rhodian captain, relying on . . . the lightness of his vessel, passed, in open day, through all the guards. Arbuthnot.

2. A military leader; a warrior.

Foremost captain of his time. Tennyson.

Captain general. (a) The commander in chief of an army or armies, or of the militia. (b) The Spanish governor of Cuba and its dependent islands. -- Captain lieutenant, a lieutenant with the rank and duties of captain but with a lieutenant's pay, -- as in the first company of an English regiment.

Cap"tain (?), v. t. To act as captain of; to lead. [R.]

Men who captained or accompanied the exodus from existing forms. Lowell.

Cap"tain, a. Chief; superior. [R.]

captain jewes in the carcanet. Shak.

Cap"tain*cy (?), n.; pl. Captaincies (&?;). The rank, post, or commission of a captain. Washington.