Definitions
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
- n. A small soluble container, usually made of gelatin, that encloses a dose of an oral medicine or a vitamin.
- n. Anatomy A fibrous, membranous, or fatty sheath that encloses an organ or part, such as the sac surrounding the kidney or the fibrous tissues that surround a joint.
- n. Microbiology A mucopolysaccharide outer shell enveloping certain bacteria.
- n. Botany A dry dehiscent fruit that develops from two or more united carpels.
- n. Botany The thin-walled, spore-containing structure of mosses and related plants.
- n. A space capsule.
- n. A brief summary; a condensation.
- adj. Highly condensed; very brief: a capsule description.
- adj. Very small; compact.
- v. To enclose in or furnish with a capsule.
- v. To condense or summarize: capsuled the news.
Century Dictionary and Cyclopedia
- n. A small casing, envelop, covering, etc., natural or artificial, usually thin or membranous; a cover or container of some small object or quantity of matter. Specifically.
- n. In botany, a dehiscent pod or seed-vessel, either membranous or woody, composed of two or more carpels, which at maturity becomes dry and opens by regular valves corresponding in number to the carpels, or twice as numerous. The term is sometimes applied to any dry dehiscent fruit, and even to the spore-cases of various cryptogamic plants.
- n. In chem.: A small saucer made of clay for roasting samples of ores, or for melting them.
- n. A small shallow vessel made of Berlin ware, platinum, etc., for evaporations, solutions, and the like.
- n. In anatomy and zoology, a membrane or ligament inclosing some part or organ as in a bag or sac; a saccular envelop or investment: as, the capsule of the crystalline lens of the eye; the capsule of a joint, as the hip.
- n. In anatomy, some part or organ likened to a capsule: as, the adrenal capsules.
- n. In Protozoa, the included perforated test of a radiolarian.
- n. In entomology, a horny case inclosing the eggs of an insect, as those of the cockroach. Also called oötheca.
- n. A cap of thin metal, such as tin-foil, put over the mouth of a corked bottle to preserve the cork from drying. Wine of good quality when bottled was formerly sealed with wax upon the cork, but the use of the capsule is now almost universal, the grower's or dealer's name or device being commonly stamped upon it.
- n. A small gelatinous case or envelop in which nauseous medicines are inclosed to be swallowed.
- n. The shell of a metallic cartridge or of a fulminating tube.
- To furnish (a bottle, medicinal powder, etc.) with a capsule.
Wiktionary
- n. physiology A membranous envelope.
- n. botany A type of simple, dehiscent, dry fruit (seed-case) produced by many species of flowering plants, such as poppy, lily, orchid, willow and cotton.
- n. botany A sporangium, especially in bryophytes.
- n. A detachable part of rocket or spacecraft (usually in the nose) containing crew's living space.
- n. pharmacy A small container containing a dose of medicine.
- n. dialectal, UK A weasel.
- n. attributively, figuratively in a brief, condensed or compact form
GNU Webster's 1913
- n. (Bot.) a dry fruit or pod which is made up of several parts or carpels, and opens to discharge the seeds
- n. A small saucer of clay for roasting or melting samples of ores, etc.; a scorifier.
- n. a small, shallow, evaporating dish, usually of porcelain.
- n. (Med.) A small cylindrical or spherical gelatinous envelope in which nauseous or acrid doses are inclosed to be swallowed.
- n. (Anat.) A membranous sac containing fluid, or investing an organ or joint. Also, a capsulelike organ.
- n. A metallic seal or cover for closing a bottle.
- n. A small cup or shell, as of metal, for a percussion cap, cartridge, etc.
WordNet 3.0
- n. a shortened version of a written work
- n. a spacecraft designed to transport people and support human life in outer space
- n. a structure that encloses a body part
- v. enclose in a capsule
- v. put in a short or concise form; reduce in volume
- n. a pill in the form of small rounded gelatinous container with medicine inside
- n. a dry dehiscent seed vessel or the spore-containing structure of e.g. mosses
- n. a pilot's seat in an airplane that can be forcibly ejected in the case of an emergency; then the pilot descends by parachute
- n. a small container
Etymologies
- From French capsule. (Wiktionary)
- French, from Latin capsula, diminutive of capsa, box. (American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition)
Examples
“SCOTT SIMON, host: Now, different kind of time capsule - Chad Matheny, a Los Angeles-based musician who records under the name Emperor X, his capsule is a cassette of his music and he buries it in the ground, then tells his fans to find it.”
“I believe a capsule is the most cost effect means of access to LEO.”
“The little picture of the capsule is actually 'in the background' and not threatened by the visually impressive falling debris.”
“With respect Bernie, Constellation isn't a stunt, a capsule is the best vehicle for returning safely from the moon and mars especially with the Ballistic speeds involved.”
“A billion in a capsule is the minimum recommended.”
“Here in a capsule is the dilemma that confronts all Canadian universities, but that looms up most insistently, I almost said, most menacingly, at the University of Toronto: how do we preserve the University as a place of learning, scholarship, and research when it must adapt itself, during the course of the next few years, to doubled enrolment.”
“Measurements of the thyroid are taken two to four hours after the capsule is given and again the following day.”
“The state could lose 1,000 jobs if the capsule is canceled.”
“We always had hope that they would be alive and now to see the capsule is exciting," said Carolina Lobos, 26, daughter of Franklin Lobos, a former football star now trapped underground.”
The Washington Post: Chilean miners start training for rescue
“The capsule is about half-a-meter wide and includes an oxygen supply and a phone to communicate with rescue crews on the surface.”
Voice of America: Chile Minister: Rescue of 33 Trapped Miners to Begin Wednesday
Lists
These user-created lists contain the word ‘capsule’.
-
dickinsonian
psalteries, enamoring, estates, whim, calyx, hoisted, nought, pentateuchal, retina, obviated, revelation, stalactite and 193 more...
-
♥
ambrosia, inamorata, gossamer, lily-white, hummingbird, roucoulement, poppy, daisy, calypso, lunula, lamb, dove and 1526 more...
-
eggplantia5's Words
scintillate, marvel, cranberry, oscillate, triumph, bamboozle, grimace, magical, book, hexagon, cipher, compendium and 2727 more...
-
NASA
A place for NASA-related stuff, from Mercury, Gemini, Apollo, Skylab, etc.
faithful shepard, lunar module, command service m..., trajectory, moon shot, apollo, mercury, gemini, skylab, viking, velcro, tang and 103 more...
-
Palaeos Eukarya
Words that appear in the Palaeos Eukarya glossary.
acronema, actin, alpha chitin, alveoli, amino acid, antapical, antenna pigment, apical, apical complex, autogamy, axoneme, axopod and 134 more...
-
Just 'cause I like 'em, C
cryptoxanthin, convent, calcar, chuckle, campanile, covet, complexion, campestral, chirography, counterscarp, caliginous, catabolism and 722 more...
-
New words, not to be confused with th...
maladroit, aphasia, delphinium, bromide, greenhorn, just deserts, loth, supplanted, steeplechase, steeple, annex, vestments and 236 more...
-
the hotlist
short, sweet, epic, catchy, sassy, sexy & sizzling.
( personal list, randomness )
more:
http://www.wordnik.com/lists/...zing, epic, win, fail, hot, warp, times, clip, onyx, wonky, pwn, leet and 1493 more...
-
Medicinal mixtures
liniment, ointment, potion, salve, balsam, cream, poultice, panacea, lotion, demulcent, embrocation, emollient and 10 more...
-
myroblyte's Words
myroblyte, cephalophore, reliquary, pyx, ganache, lord, quill, gallant, quixotic, finial, macaronic, hang fire and 73 more...
-
2012-11-20
-
space
Tweets
Looking for tweets for capsule.

chained_bear Regarding the space program, this term is not preferred by those who fly, because it connotes passivity by the people who actually operate the craft. Jul 24, 2009