Etymology

From the via the English root

First used by novelist William Thackeray in 1854 to mean "owners of capital", within a few years was being used by both Pierre Proudhon and Karl Marx as a pejorative for property-based, free market economics. Eventually caught on to widespread use politically, whether seen as good or badhttp://www.spiritus-temporis.com/capitalism/etymology.html.

Noun

1. a socio-economic system based on private property rights, including the private ownership of resources or capital, with economic decisions made largely through the operation of an unregulated market.
2. a socio-economic system based on the abstraction of resources into the form of privately-owned capital, with economic decisions made largely through the operation of an unregulated market.
3. a specific variation or implementation of either such socio-economic system.