Standard Lemma guide

capacitance

noun · 4 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot

Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.

Sound

Pronunciation

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  • US: Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
  • CMU ARPABET: K AH0 P AE1 S AH0 T AH0 N S Digits mark lexical stress: 1 primary, 2 secondary, 0 unstressed.

1

noun

Meaning 1

The property of an electric circuit or its element that permits it to store charge, defined as the ratio of stored charge to potential over that element or circuit (Q/V); SI unit: farad (F).

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: uncountable

Topics: natural-sciences, physical-sciences, physics

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: elastance

2

noun

Meaning 2

An element of an electrical circuit exhibiting capacitance.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: countable

Topics: natural-sciences, physical-sciences, physics

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

3

noun

Meaning 3

an electrical device characterized by its capacity to store an electric charge

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: capacitor, condenser, electrical condenser

Antonyms: none provided

Broader terms: electrical device

Narrower terms: bypass condenser, bypass capacitor, electrolytic, electrolytic capacitor, electrolytic condenser, Leiden jar, Leyden jar, trimmer, trimming capacitor

4

noun

Meaning 4

an electrical phenomenon whereby an electric charge is stored

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: electrical capacity, capacity

Antonyms: none provided

Broader terms: electrical phenomenon

History

Etymology

Etymology tree substratebor.? Proto-Indo-European *kap- Proto-Indo-European *-yéti Proto-Indo-European *kapyéti Proto-Italic *kapjō Old Latin kapiō Latin capiō Proto-Indo-European *-eh2-k-s Proto-Italic *-āks Latin -āx Latin capāx Proto-Indo-European *-teh2 Proto-Indo-European *-ts Proto-Indo-European *-teh2ts Proto-Italic *-tāts Latin -tās Latin capācitāsder. Old French capacitebor. Middle English capacite English capacity Proto-Indo-European *-(i)yós Proto-Italic *-ijos Proto-Italic *-ios Old Latin -ios Latin -ius Latin -iader. Old French -ancebor. Middle English -aunce English -ance English capacitance From capacity + -ance.

Across languages

Translations

38 source translations are retained for this English entry.

  • Asturian: capacitancia — property of an element of an electrical circuit
  • Asturian: capacidá llétrica — property of an element of an electrical circuit
  • Bulgarian: капацитет (kapacitet) — property of an element of an electrical circuit
  • Catalan: capacitància — property of an element of an electrical circuit
  • Chinese Mandarin: 電容 /电容 (diànróng) — property of an element of an electrical circuit
  • Danish: kapacitans — property of an element of an electrical circuit
  • Dutch: elektrische capaciteit — property of an element of an electrical circuit
  • Finnish: kapasitanssi — property of an element of an electrical circuit
  • French: capacité électrique — property of an element of an electrical circuit
  • Galician: capacitancia — property of an element of an electrical circuit
  • Galician: capacidade eléctrica — property of an element of an electrical circuit
  • German: Kapazität — property of an element of an electrical circuit
  • Hindi: धारिता (dhāritā) — property of an element of an electrical circuit
  • Hungarian: kapacitás — property of an element of an electrical circuit
  • Icelandic: rafrýmd — property of an element of an electrical circuit
  • Indonesian: kapasitans — property of an element of an electrical circuit
  • Italian: capacità — property of an element of an electrical circuit
  • Japanese: 容量 (yōryō) — property of an element of an electrical circuit
  • Japanese: 電気容量 (denkiyōryō) — property of an element of an electrical circuit
  • Japanese: 静電容量 (seiden'yōryō) — property of an element of an electrical circuit
  • Korean: 용량 (yongnyang) — property of an element of an electrical circuit
  • Korean: 전기용량 (jeon'giyongnyang) — property of an element of an electrical circuit
  • Korean: 정전용량 (jeongjeonyongnyang) — property of an element of an electrical circuit
  • Māori: āheipuringa — property of an element of an electrical circuit
  • Māori: kahapupuri hiko — property of an element of an electrical circuit
  • Polish: pojemność elektryczna — property of an element of an electrical circuit
  • Portuguese: capacitância — property of an element of an electrical circuit
  • Romanian: capacitate electrică — property of an element of an electrical circuit
  • Russian: ёмкость (jómkostʹ) — property of an element of an electrical circuit
  • Spanish: capacitancia — property of an element of an electrical circuit
  • Swedish: kapacitans — property of an element of an electrical circuit
  • Tagalog: kalulanan — property of an element of an electrical circuit
  • Turkish: kapasitans — property of an element of an electrical circuit
  • Welsh: cynhwysiant — property of an element of an electrical circuit
  • Finnish: kapasitanssi — element
  • Finnish: kondensaattori — element
  • Polish: pojemność elektryczna — element
  • Russian: конденса́тор (kondensátor) — element