capacity : Dictionary / Wörterbuch (BEOLINGUS, TU Chemnitz)

English Dictionary: capacity	by the DICT Development Group
3 results for capacity
From WordNet (r) 3.0 (2006) [wn]:
capacity n capability to perform or produce; "among his gifts is his capacity for true altruism"; "limited runway capacity"; "a great capacity for growth" Antonym(s): incapacity the susceptibility of something to a particular treatment; "the capability of a metal to be fused" Synonym(s): capability, capacity the amount that can be contained; "the gas tank has a capacity of 12 gallons" Synonym(s): capacity, content the maximum production possible; "the plant is working at 80 per cent capacity" a specified function; "he was employed in the capacity of director"; "he should be retained in his present capacity at a higher salary" (computer science) the amount of information (in bytes) that can be stored on a disk drive; "the capacity of a hard disk drive is usually expressed in megabytes" an electrical phenomenon whereby an electric charge is stored Synonym(s): capacitance, electrical capacity, capacity the power to learn or retain knowledge; in law, the ability to understand the facts and significance of your behavior Synonym(s): capacity, mental ability Antonym(s): incapacity tolerance for alcohol; "he had drunk beyond his capacity"
From Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913) [web1913]:
Capacity \Capac"ity\, n.; pl. {Capacities} (-t[icr]z). [L. capacitus, fr. capax, capacis; fr. F. capacit[82]. See {Capacious}.] 1. The power of receiving or containing; extent of room or space; passive power; -- used in reference to physical things. Had our great palace the capacity To camp this host, we all would sup together. --Shak. The capacity of the exhausted cylinder. --Boyle. 2. The power of receiving and holding ideas, knowledge, etc.; the comprehensiveness of the mind; the receptive faculty; capability of undestanding or feeling. Capacity is now properly limited to these [the mere passive operations of the mind]; its primary signification, which is literally room for, as well as its employment, favars this; although it can not be dented that there are examples of its usage in an active sense. --Sir W. Hamilton. 3. Ability; power pertaining to, or resulting from, the possession of strength, wealth, or talent; possibility of being or of doing. The capacity of blessing the people. --Alex. Hamilton. A cause with such capacities endued. --Blackmore. 4. Outward condition or circumstances; occupation; profession; character; position; as, to work in the capacity of a mason or a carpenter. 5. (Law) Legal or noral qualification, as of age, residence, character, etc., necessary for certain purposes, as for holding office, for marrying, for making contracts, will, etc.; legal power or right; competency. {Capacity for heat}, the power of absorbing heat. Substances differ in the amount of heat requisite to raise them a given number of thermometric degrees, and this difference is the measure of, or depends upon, what is called their capacity for heat. See {Specific heat}, under {Heat}. Syn: Ability; faculty; talent; capability; skill; efficiency; cleverness. See {Ability}.
From The Free On-line Dictionary of Computing (15Feb98) [foldoc]:
capacity The maximum possible {data transfer rate} of a communications channel under ideal conditions. The total capacity of a channel may be shared between several independent data streams using some kind of {multiplexing}, in which case, each stream's data rate may be limited to a fixed fraction of the total capacity. (2001-05-22)