căpax, ācis, adj. [capio], that can contain or hold much, wide, large, spacious, roomy, capacious (in poets and in post-Aug. prose freq.; in Cic. perh. only once, and then trop; v. infra). I. Lit.: mundus, Lucr. 6, 123: conchae
, Hor. C. 2, 7, 22: urna
, id. ib. 3, 1, 16; Ov. M. 3, 172: capaciores scyphos
, Hor. Epod. 9, 33: pharetram
, Ov. M. 9, 231: putei
, id. ib. 7, 568: urbs
, id. ib. 4, 439: ripae
, id. Am. 3, 6, 19: uterus
, Plin. 10, 33, 49, 93: portus
, id. 4, 7, 12, 26: spatiosa et capax domus
, Plin. Ep. 7, 27, 5: villa usibus capax
, id. ib. 2, 17, 4: forma capacissima
, Quint. 1, 10, 40: moles
, Tac. A. 2, 21.—With gen.: circus capax populi
, Ov. A. A. 1, 136: cibi vinique capacissimus
, Liv. 9, 16, 13: flumen onerariarum navium capax
, Plin. 6, 23, 26, 99; 12, 1, 5, 11: magnae sedis insula haud capax est
, Curt. 4, 8, 2.—II. Trop. A. Capacious, susceptible, capable of, good, able, apt, fit for: Demosthenes non semper implet aures meas: ita sunt avidae et capaces, etc., Cic. Or. 29, 104: ingenium
, great
, Ov. M. 8, 533: animi ad praecepta
, id. ib. 8, 243: animo majora capaci
, id. ib. 15, 5: capax est animus noster
, Sen. Ep. 92, 30.—With gen.: animal mentis capacius altae (i.e. homo)
, Ov. M. 1, 76: imperii
, Tac. H. 1, 49; cf. id. A. 1, 13: aetas honorum nondum capax
, id. H. 4, 42: molis tantae mens
, id. A. 1,11: secreti, that can keep or conceal, Plin. Ep. 1, 12, 7: capacia bonae spei pectora
, Curt. 8, 13, 11: magnorum operum
, id. 6, 5, 29: ingenium omnium bonarum artium capacissimum
, Sen. Contr. 2, praef. 4: cujusque clari operis capacia ingenia
, Vell. 1, 16, 2: bonum et capax recta discendi ingenium
, id. 2, 29, 5: laboris ac fidei
, id. 2, 127, 3: ingenia fecunda et totius naturae capacissima
, Plin. 2, 78, 80, 190: doli
, fit
, suitable for
, Dig. 43, 4, 1.—B. In the Lat. of the jurists (cf. capio, II. F.), that has a right to an inheritance, Dig. 34, 3, 29.—Adv.: căpācĭter, Aug. Trin. 11, 2.