capsule
Etymology

Borrowed from French capsule, from Latin capsula, diminutive of capsa ("box").

Pronunciation
  • (America) IPA: /ˈkæps(ə)l/
  • (RP) IPA: /ˈkæpsjuːl/
  • (Australia) IPA: /ˈkæpʃuːl/
Noun

capsule (plural capsules)

  1. (physiology) A membranous envelope.
  2. (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.
  3. (botany) A sporangium, especially in bryophytes.
    • 1992, Rudolf M[athias] Schuster, The Hepaticae and Anthocerotae of North America: East of the Hundredth Meridian, volume V, Chicago, Ill.: Field Museum of Natural History, →ISBN, pages 4-5:
      The epidermal cells of the capsule wall of Jubulopsis, with nodose "trigones" at the angles, are very reminiscent of what one finds in Frullania spp.
  4. (anatomy) A tough, fibrous layer surrounding an organ such as the kidney or liver
  5. (anatomy) A membrane that surrounds the eyeball
  6. (astronautics) A detachable part of a rocket or spacecraft (usually in the nose) containing the crew's living space.
  7. (pharmacy) A small container containing a dose of medicine.
  8. (attributively, figuratively) in a brief, condensed or compact form
    • 1962, John F. Kennedy, We choose to go to the moon:
      If this capsule history of our progress teaches us anything, it is that man, in his quest for knowledge and progress, is determined and cannot be deterred.
  9. (winemaking) The covering — formerly lead or tin, now often plastic — over the cork at the top of the wine bottle.
  10. (chemistry, dated) A small clay saucer for roasting or melting samples of ores, etc.; a scorifier.
  11. A small, shallow evaporating dish, usually of porcelain.
  12. A small cup or shell, often of metal, for a percussion cap, cartridge, etc.
  13. One of the very small rooms for guests in a capsule hotel.
    Synonyms: pod
Translations Translations Translations Translations Translations Verb

capsule (capsules, present participle capsuling; simple past and past participle capsuled)

  1. (transitive) To form (medicine, etc.) into capsules.
  2. (transitive) To encapsulate or summarize.



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