Capital city

A capital city, or just capital, is the municipality holding primary status in a country, state, province, department, or other subnational division, usually as its seat of the government. A capital is typically a city that physically encompasses the government's offices and meeting places; the status as capital is often designated by its law or constitution. In some jurisdictions, including several countries, different branches of government are in different settlements, sometimes meaning multiple official capitals. In some cases, a distinction is made between the official (constitutional) capital and the seat of government, which is in another place.

English-language media often use the name of the capital metonymically to refer to the government sitting there. Thus, "London-Washington relations" is widely understood to mean diplomatic relations between Great Britain and the United States.^[1]