Capability Brown received his nickname "Capability" because he always told his patrons that their land had "great capability" for re-landscaping.

My more-or-less reliable memory was confirmed by the entry (under Brown, Lancelot) in the Oxford English Reference Dictionary, tho as lots of books fell out (as always) in my attempts to get it out, I might re-arrange the shelf to put the less useful ones at the back of the shelf. One day, cos I also got out my Guiness Book of Names by Leslie Dunking (a treasure I've owned since it was published in 1974) & can't find any mention of the virtue names, but lots of good stuff so I might waste a bit of time with it later.

sandra