Editing Capital city (section)

== Terminology and etymology ==
[[File:Tavares.Forum.Romanum.redux.jpg|thumb|[[Rome]], as the capital of the [[Roman Empire]], acquired the nickname of ''[[Caput Mundi]]'' ("Capital of the world").]]

The word ''capital'' derives from the Latin word {{lang|la|caput}} (genitive {{lang|la|capitis}}), meaning 'head', later borrowed from [[Medieval Latin]] ''{{lang|la|capitālis}}'' ('of the head').<ref>{{Cite dictionary |title=Capital |url=https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/capital |access-date=2024-05-07 |dictionary=Merriam-Webster  |language=en}}</ref> The Latin phrase {{lang|la|[[Caput Mundi|Roma Caput Mundi]]}} ({{literal|Rome head of the world}}) was already used by the poet [[Ovid]] in the 1st century&nbsp;BC.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Ovidius Naso|first1=Publius|title=Amores|translator-last=Bishop|translator-first=Tom|publisher=Taylor & Francis|date=2003|isbn=0415967414|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=qnZIGZV5kRgC}}</ref> It originates out of a [[classical antiquity|classical European]] understanding of the [[Ecumene|known world]]: [[Europe]], [[North Africa]], and [[Southwest Asia]]. The phrase is related to the enduring power of the city first as the capital of the [[Roman Republic|Republic]] and the [[Roman Empire|Empire]], and later as the centre of the [[Catholic Church]].<ref>{{cite book |title=Understanding China Today: An Exploration of Politics, Economics, Society, and International Relations |first=Silvio |last=Beretta |year=2017 |isbn=9783319296258 |page=320 |publisher=Springer }}</ref><ref>{{cite book |title=Christianity: Religions of the World |first=Ann Marie B. |last=Bahr |year=2009 |isbn=9781438106397 |page=139 |publisher=Infobase Publishing }}</ref><ref>{{cite book |title=Rome in America: Transnational Catholic Ideology from the Risorgimento to Fascism |first=Peter R. |last= D'Agostino |year=2005 |isbn=9780807863411 |page= |publisher=Univ of North Carolina Press }}</ref>

In several English-speaking [[Constituent state|state]]s, the terms [[county town]] and [[county seat]] are also used in lower [[administrative division]]s. In some [[unitary state]]s, subnational capitals may be known as 'administrative centres'. The capital is often the largest city of its constituent, though [[List of countries whose capital is not their largest city|not always]].