/kap"seuhl, -soohl, -syoohl/ , n. , v. , capsuled, capsuling , adj.
n.
1. Pharm. a gelatinous case enclosing a dose of medicine.
2. Biol.
a. a membranous sac or integument.
b. either of two strata of white matter in the cerebrum.
c. the sporangium of various spore-producing organisms, as ferns, mosses, algae, and fungi.
3. Bot. a dry dehiscent fruit, composed of two or more carpels.
4. a small case, envelope, or covering.
5. Also called space capsule . Aerospace. a sealed cabin, container, or vehicle in which a person or animal can ride in flight in space or at very high altitudes within the earth's atmosphere.
6. Aviation. a similar cabin in a military aircraft, which can be ejected from the aircraft in an emergency.
7. a thin metal covering for the mouth of a corked bottle.
8. a concise report; brief outline: An appendix to the book contains biographical capsules of the contributors.
v.t.
9. to furnish with or enclose in or as if in a capsule; encapsulate.
10. to capsulize.
adj.
11. small and compact.
12. short and concise; brief and summarized: a capsule report.
[ 1645-55; 1950-55 for def. 5; ( capsula, equiv. to caps ( a ) box (see CASE 2 ) + -ula -ULE ]