C — Capitellate to Capstan (Part 4 of 6)

Capping plane
(Cap"ping plane`) (Join.) A plane used for working the upper surface of staircase rails.

Capra
(||Ca"pra) n. [L., a she goat.] (Zoöl.) A genus of ruminants, including the common goat.

Caprate
(Cap"rate) n. (Chem.) A salt of capric acid.

Capreolate
(Cap"re*o*late) a. [L. capreolus wild goat, tendril, fr. caper goat: cf. F. capréolé.] (Bot.) Having a tendril or tendrils.

Capreoline
(Cap"re*o*line) a. [L. capreolus wild goat, fr. caper goat.] (Zoöl.) Of or pertaining to the roebuck.

Capric
(Cap"ric) a. [L. caper goat.] (Chem.) Of or pertaining to capric acid or its derivatives.

Capric acid, C₉H₁₉.CO₂H, Caprylic acid, C₇H₁₅.CO₂H, and Caproic acid, C₅H₁₁.CO₂H, are fatty acids occurring in small quantities in butter, cocoanut oil, etc., united with glycerin; they are colorless oils, or white crystalline solids, of an unpleasant odor like that of goats or sweat.

Capriccio
(||Ca*pric"cio) n. [It. See Caprice.]

1. (Mus.) A piece in a free form, with frequent digressions from the theme; a fantasia; — often called caprice.

2. A caprice; a freak; a fancy. Shak.

Capriccioso
(||Ca*pric*cio"so) a. [It.] (Mus) In a free, fantastic style.

Caprice
(Ca*price") n. [F. caprice, It. capriccio, caprice (perh. orig. a fantastical goat leap), fr. L. caper, capra, goat. Cf Capriole, Cab, Caper, v. i.]

1. An abrupt change in feeling, opinion, or action, proceeding from some whim or fancy; a freak; a notion. "Caprices of appetite." W. Irving.

2. (Mus.) See Capriccio.

Syn. — Freak; whim; crotchet; fancy; vagary; humor; whimsey; fickleness.

Capricious
(Ca*pri"cious) a. [Cf. F. capricieux, It. capriccioso.] Governed or characterized by caprice; apt to change suddenly; freakish; whimsical; changeable. "Capricious poet." Shak. "Capricious humor." Hugh Miller.

A capricious partiality to the Romish practices.
Hallam.

Syn. — Freakish; whimsical; fanciful; fickle; crotchety; fitful; wayward; changeable; unsteady; uncertain; inconstant; arbitrary.

— Ca*pri"cious*ly, adv. — Ca*pri"cious*ness, n.

Capricorn
(Cap"ri*corn) n. [L. capricornus; caper goat + cornu horn: cf. F. capricorne.]

1. (Astron.) The tenth sign of zodiac, into which the sun enters at the winter solstice, about December 21. See Tropic.

The sun was entered into Capricorn.
Dryden.

2. (Astron.) A southern constellation, represented on ancient monuments by the figure of a goat, or a figure with its fore part like a fish.