capax, 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). 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.

— Trop. 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.

— In the Lat. of the jurists (cf. capio, II. F.), that has a right to an inheritance, Dig. 34, 3, 29.

—Adv.: capāciter, Aug. Trin. 11, 2.