chapter English · revision 4059

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=borrowing|attested=c. 1200|origins=la capitulum}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: UK /ˈtʃæp.tə/, US /ˈtʃæp.tɚ/^(Roach et al. 2011)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[inh|enm|chapitre]], chaptre,^(AHD 2000)^(Barnhart 1988) [[bor|fro|chapitre|t=chapter of a book; article of a treaty; cathedral chapter]],^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988) 12th century, an alteration of earlier chapitle,^(Etymonline)^(Hoad 1986)^(SOED 2002) from [[la-lat|capitulum|t=section of a book]],^(Barnhart 1988)^(MWU 2024) in Medieval Latin also a synod or council,^(Etymonline) literally “little head”, a diminutive of [[la|caput|t=head]],^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988)^(Hoad 1986) from [[ine-pro|*kaput-|t=head]].^(Etymonline)^(AHD 2000) It is related to [[capital]] and [[chief]].^(Klein 1966)^(COED 2004)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ A main division of a book: probably before 1200, in the Ancrene Riwle,^(Barnhart 1988) about 1200 in Etymonline,^(Etymonline) and the OED has quotations from before 1000.^(OED 1989)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ The church senses arose from the meetings of the canons of a cathedral or the members of a religious order, at which a chapter of Scripture or of the order's rule was read aloud;^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988)^(MWU 2024) the meeting itself was called a chapter from about 1300,^(Barnhart 1988) the canons as a body from the late 14th century,^(Etymonline) and their meeting place the chapter house.^(Barnhart 1988) A chapter was also an ecclesiastical court from before 1300, now obsolete.^(OED 1989) From the church sense came “local branch of a society or organization”, in 1815.^(Etymonline) ''Chapter and verse'', in full and with an exact reference, is from the 1620s,^(Etymonline) early 17th century in Word Origins, and refers to the numbering of the Bible.^(Cresswell 2021)^(Etymonline) The figurative chapter, a distinct period in a life or in history, is from 1601,^(OED 1989) and a numbered division of the Acts of Parliament of a single session from 1660.^(OED 1989) The verb, “to divide into chapters”, is from 1485,^(OED 1989) and “to reprimand”, after French chapitrer, from 1693.^(OED 1989)^(SOED 2002)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * c. 1200 – a division of a book.^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * c. 1300 – a meeting of canons.^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * late 14th century – the body of canons.^(Etymonline)

+ * 1485 – verb, to divide into chapters.^(OED 1989)

+ * 1601 – figuratively, a period of events.^(OED 1989)

+ * 1620s – ''chapter and verse''.^(Etymonline)

+ * 1815 – a local branch.^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Noun===

+ # One of the main numbered or titled divisions of a [[book]] or other long piece of writing.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)

+ # A distinct period or sequence of events: ''a new chapter in her life''.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)

+ # A local branch of an [[organization]], such as a club or fraternity.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)

+ # The [[canon]]s of a cathedral or collegiate church, or the members of a religious order, or a meeting of them.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)

+

+ ===Verb===

+ # To divide into chapters.^(OED 1989)^(SOED 2002)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[chapteral]]

+ * [[subchapter]]

+ * [[chapter and verse]]

+ * [[chapter house]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[chapiter]]

+ * [[capital]]

+ * [[capitalism]]

+ * [[captain]]

+ * [[capitulate]]

+ * [[capitulation]]

+ * [[per capita]]

+ * [[chief]]

+ * [[cattle]]

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}