capsule

noun

• 1a small case or container, especially a round or cylindrical one: he showed us the cylinder of the gun filled with six plastic capsules
• a small soluble case of gelatin containing a dose of medicine, swallowed whole.
• short for space capsule.

• 2 Anatomy a tough sheath or membrane that encloses an organ or other structure in the body, such as a kidney or a synovial joint.
• Biology a gelatinous layer forming the outer surface of some bacterial cells.

• 3the foil or plastic covering the cork of a wine bottle.

• 4 Botany a dry fruit that releases its seeds by bursting open when ripe, such as a pea pod.

• 5 Botany the spore-producing structure of mosses and liverworts, typically borne on a stalk.

• 6 [as modifier] (of a piece of writing) shortened but retaining the essence of the original; condensed:a capsule review of the movie
• (of a collection of clothing) consisting of a relatively small set of key items:a capsule wardrobe