Active \Ac"tive\, a. [F. actif, L. activus, fr. agere to act.]
   1. Having the power or quality of acting; causing change;
      communicating action or motion; acting; -- opposed to
      passive, that receives; as, certain active principles;
      the powers of the mind.
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   2. Quick in physical movement; of an agile and vigorous body;
      nimble; as, an active child or animal.
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            Active and nervous was his gait.      --Wordsworth.
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   3. In action; actually proceeding; working; in force; --
      opposed to quiescent, dormant, or extinct; as,
      active laws; active hostilities; an active volcano.
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   4. Given to action; constantly engaged in action; energetic;
      diligent; busy; -- opposed to dull, sluggish,
      indolent, or inert; as, an active man of business;
      active mind; active zeal.
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   5. Requiring or implying action or exertion; -- opposed to
      sedentary or to tranquil; as, active employment or
      service; active scenes.
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   6. Given to action rather than contemplation; practical;
      operative; -- opposed to speculative or theoretical;
      as, an active rather than a speculative statesman.
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   7. Brisk; lively; as, an active demand for corn.
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   8. Implying or producing rapid action; as, an active disease;
      an active remedy.
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   9. (Gram.)
      (a) Applied to a form of the verb; -- opposed to
          passive. See Active voice, under Voice.
      (b) Applied to verbs which assert that the subject acts
          upon or affects something else; transitive.
      (c) Applied to all verbs that express action as distinct
          from mere existence or state.
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   Active capital, Active wealth, money, or property that
      may readily be converted into money.
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   Syn: Agile; alert; brisk; vigorous; nimble; lively; quick;
        sprightly; prompt; energetic.
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capital \cap"i*tal\ (k[a^]p"[i^]*tal), n. [Cf. L. capitellum and
   capitulum, a small head, the head, top, or capital of a
   column, dim. of caput head; F. chapiteau, OF. capitel. See
   chief, and cf. cattle, chattel, chapiter, chapter.]
   1. (Arch.) The head or uppermost member of a column,
      pilaster, etc. It consists generally of three parts,
      abacus, bell (or vase), and necking. See these terms, and
      Column.
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   2. [Cf. F. capilate, fem., sc. ville.] (Geog.) The seat of
      government; the chief city or town in a country; a
      metropolis. "A busy and splendid capital" --Macauly.
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   3. [Cf. F. capital.] Money, property, or stock employed in
      trade, manufactures, etc.; the sum invested or lent, as
      distinguished from the income or interest. See Capital
      stock, under Capital, a.
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   4. (Polit. Econ.) That portion of the produce of industry,
      which may be directly employed either to support human
      beings or to assist in production. --M'Culloch.
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   Note: When wealth is used to assist production it is called
         capital. The capital of a civilized community includes
         fixed capital (i.e. buildings, machines, and roads
         used in the course of production and exchange) and
         circulating capital (i.e., food, fuel, money, etc.,
         spent in the course of production and exchange). --T.
         Raleigh.
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   5. Anything which can be used to increase one's power or
      influence.
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            He tried to make capital out of his rival's
            discomfiture.                         --London
                                                  Times.
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   6. (Fort.) An imaginary line dividing a bastion, ravelin, or
      other work, into two equal parts.
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   7. A chapter, or section, of a book. [Obs.]
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            Holy St. Bernard hath said in the 59th capital.
                                                  --Sir W.
                                                  Scott.
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   8. (Print.) See Capital letter, under Capital, a.
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   Active capital. See under Active,

   Small capital (Print.), a small capital letter; informally
      referred to (in the plural) as small caps; as, the
      technical terms are listed in small caps. See under
      Capital, a.

   To live on one's capital, to consume one's capital without
      producing or accumulating anything to replace it.
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