Definition of Capital city

For the fictional city, see Capital City (The Simpsons). For centers of government and politics, see Capital.

In politics, a capital (also called capital city or political capital — although the latter phrase has  a second meaning based on an alternative sense of "capital") is the center of government. It is almost always the city which physically encompasses the offices and meeting places of the seat of government and fixed by law. The word capital is derived from the Latin caput meaning "head," and the related term Capitol (disambiguation){{!}}capitol refers to the building where government business is chiefly conducted. Seats of government in major sub-state jurisdictions are often called "capitals", but this is typically the case only in countries with some degree of federalism, where major substate jurisdictions have an element of sovereignty. In unitary states, "administrative center" or other similar terms are typically used. For example, the seat of government in a state of the United States of America is usually called its "capital", but the main city in a region of England is usually not. At lower administrative subdivisions, terms such as county town, county seat, or borough seat are usually used.