chapel

Pronunciation

• IPA: /ˈt͡ʃæp.əl/^[1]

Etymology

It is inherited from Middle English chapele, borrowed from Old French chapele (modern French chapelle),^[2][3][4] from Medieval Latin cappella, a chapel, sanctuary for relics, canopy, literally a little cape, a diminutive of Late Latin cappa, cape (see cape, cap).^[2][3][5] By tradition the first chapel was the sanctuary where the Frankish kings kept the cloak of St Martin of Tours, which he had cut in half to share with a beggar;^[3][6][2] the other theory is that capella meant a canopy over the altar.^[3][2] The word spread to most European languages, as German Kapelle and Italian cappella.^[3]

Earliest recorded meaning

A place of worship subordinate to a church, especially a part of a large church with its own altar: before 1225 in the OED, the early 13th century in Etymonline, probably about 1200 in Barnhart.^[7][3][2]

Semantic evolution

Barnhart notes that chapel was a meaning of cappella from at least 796.^[2] A room or building for private worship in a palace or great house is from 1297,^[7] and an oratory in a mausoleum from about 1330.^[7] A parochial chapel is from 1491,^[7] and a chapel of ease for parishioners far from the church from 1538.^[7] From the 17th century it was used of places of worship other than those of the established church, especially Nonconformist ones in Britain.^[3][7][4] A printing office, or the association of journeyman printers, is also a chapel from the 17th century.^[4]

Timeline

• before 1225 – a subordinate place of worship.^[7]
• 1297 – a private chapel.^[7]
• 1538 – chapel of ease.^[7]
• 1662 – a Nonconformist chapel.^[7]
• 17th century – a printers' association.^[4]

Modern meaning

Noun

1. A place of worship smaller than and subordinate to a church, or a room set apart in a church with its own altar.
2. A place of worship in an institution such as a college, hospital or prison.
3. (Britain) A Nonconformist place of worship.
4. A service held in a chapel.
5. A union branch in a printing works or newspaper office.

Word family

• antechapel
• chapel de fer
• chapel of ease
• Lady chapel

Related words

• chaplain
• cappella
• cape
• cap
• chaperone

References

1. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f Barnhart, Robert K. (1988), The Barnhart Dictionary of Etymology
3. ^ a b c d e f g Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
4. ^ a b c d Hoad, T. F., ed. (1986), The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology, Oxford: Clarendon Press
5. ^ Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
6. ^ Cresswell, Julia (2021), Oxford Dictionary of Word Origins, 3rd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
7. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press