Capital has many meanings, while capitol has only one, so let’s start with capitol . . . A capitol refers to the building where a legislative body meets. The Capitol is the building where the United States Congress meets. (The Congress is the Senate and House of Representatives—the law-making body of the United States.)Capital has two major […]

Canvas is a heavy cloth—usually waterproof and air-proof—made of cotton, hemp, or flax, which is traditionally used for the sails on boats, as the backing for paintings, or in tents and other protective cloth coverings.  One can call the piece of canvas behind a painting, “a canvas,” but in other cases it refers to the general […]

These two nouns have very different meanings!  A cannon is a kind of large gun-like projectile weapon (officially “artillery”) that rests on the ground or a frame and uses a chemical explosion to throw projectiles— usually “cannon balls”—long distances, not very accurately. They were among the most powerful weapons available before the modern era and […]

These two words have almost the same meaning, but not quite. A callus (noun) is the hardened and rough skin that forms due to abrasion, such as on the tips of the fingers of a guitar player. Callus is also a verb: My fingertips began to callus as I practiced playing sitar. Now, they are […]

These two nouns have nothing in common.  A calamity is a disaster—a terrible event of any kind: The United States has suffered numerous calamities recently, ranging from wildfires and hurricanes to a pandemic and the following economic crisis. Calumny, in contrast, is a high-style word for slander—intentionally spreading negative ideas about a person’s character, trying to […]