chapel English · revision 10405

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=borrowing|attested=before 1225|origins=fro chapele|origins=la-med cappella}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: /ˈt͡ʃæp.əl/^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is Middle English chapele, [[bor|fro|chapele]] (modern French chapelle),^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline)^(Hoad 1986) from Medieval Latin cappella, a chapel, sanctuary for relics, canopy, literally a little cape, a diminutive of Late Latin cappa, cape (see [[cape]], [[cap]]).^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline)^(MWU 2024) 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;^(Etymonline)^(Cresswell 2021)^(Barnhart 1988) the other theory is that capella meant a canopy over the altar.^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988) The word spread to most European languages, as German Kapelle and Italian cappella.^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==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.^(OED 1989)^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ Barnhart notes that chapel was a meaning of cappella from at least 796.^(Barnhart 1988) A room or building for private worship in a palace or great house is from 1297,^(OED 1989) and an oratory in a mausoleum from about 1330.^(OED 1989) A parochial chapel is from 1491,^(OED 1989) and a ''chapel of ease'' for parishioners far from the church from 1538.^(OED 1989) From the 17th century it was used of places of worship other than those of the established church, especially Nonconformist ones in Britain.^(Etymonline)^(OED 1989)^(Hoad 1986) A printing office, or the association of journeyman printers, is also a chapel from the 17th century.^(Hoad 1986)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * before 1225 – a subordinate place of worship.^(OED 1989)

+ * 1297 – a private chapel.^(OED 1989)

+ * 1538 – chapel of ease.^(OED 1989)

+ * 1662 – a Nonconformist chapel.^(OED 1989)

+ * 17th century – a printers' association.^(Hoad 1986)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Noun===

+ # A place of worship smaller than and subordinate to a church, or a room set apart in a church with its own altar.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # A place of worship in an institution such as a college, hospital or prison.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # ''(Britain)'' A Nonconformist place of worship.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # A service held in a chapel.^(AHD)

+ # A union branch in a printing works or newspaper office.^(Collins 2023)^(Hoad 1986)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[antechapel]]

+ * [[chapel de fer]]

+ * [[chapel of ease]]

+ * [[Lady chapel]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[chaplain]]

+ * [[cappella]]

+ * [[cape]]

+ * [[cap]]

+ * [[chaperone]]

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}