capitalism
UK[ˈkæpɪtəlɪzəm]US[ˈkæpɪtəlɪzəm]
n
An economic and political system in which a country's trade and industry are controlled by private owners for profit, rather than by the state.
Morpheme Breakdown
capital
ism
capital
wealth
ism
system or ideology
Etymology
The term "capitalism" is a relatively modern formation, built upon the much older word "capital." "Capital" traces back to the Latin caput, meaning "head," which in Proto-Indo-European (káput-) also signified the head. In Latin, capitalis evolved to mean "principal" or "chief," leading to its financial sense of principal wealth or stock. The suffix "-ism," derived from Greek -ismos, denotes an action, practice, or system. Thus, "capitalism" literally translates to "the system or ideology centered on capital (private wealth and assets)," a meaning that crystallized in the mid-19th century to describe the dominant economic system of the industrial era.
Analysis
Structure: capital (wealth) + ism (system or ideology)
- capital: From Latin capitalis ("of the head, principal"), from caput ("head"). In this word, it functions as the core root denoting wealth or principal assets.
- ism: A suffix of Greek origin (via Latin -ismus), used to form nouns indicating a distinctive system, doctrine, or practice.
Examples
The rise of industrial capitalism transformed societies in the 19th century.
Critics argue that capitalism can lead to significant income inequality.
Many economies today are mixed, incorporating elements of both capitalism and government regulation.