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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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
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