What is "capital stock"

Capital \Cap"i*tal\, a. [F. capital, L. capitalis capital (in senses 1 & 2), fr. caput head. See Chief, and cf. Capital, n.]

1. Of or pertaining to the head. [Obs.]

   Needs must the Serpent now his capital bruise Expect with mortal pain.
   --Milton.

2. Having reference to, or involving, the forfeiture of the head or life; affecting life; punishable with death; as, capital trials; capital punishment.

   Many crimes that are capital among us.
   --Swift.

   To put to death a capital offender.
   --Milton.

3. First in importance; chief; principal.

   A capital article in religion
   --Atterbury.

   Whatever is capital and essential in Christianity.
   --I. Taylor.

4. Chief, in a political sense, as being the seat of the general government of a state or nation; as, Washington and Paris are capital cities.

5. Of first rate quality; excellent; as, a capital speech or song. [Colloq.]

   Capital letter [F, lettre capitale] (Print.), a leading or heading letter, used at the beginning of a sentence and as the first letter of certain words, distinguished, for the most part, both by different form and larger size, from the small (lower-case) letters, which form the greater part of common print or writing.

   Small capital letters have the form of capital letters and height of the body of the lower-case letters.

   Capital stock, money, property, or stock invested in any business, or the enterprise of any corporation or institution.
   --Abbott.

   Syn: Chief; leading; controlling; prominent.

n. (context legal accounting English) The total amount of common and preferred stock (shares) that a company can issue.

1. n. the maximum number of shares authorized under the terms of a corporation's articles of incorporation [syn: authorized shares, authorized stock]

2. the book value of the outstanding shares of a corporation