chapel

American  

[chap-uhl] / ˈtʃæp əl /

noun

1. a private or subordinate place of prayer or worship; oratory.

2. a separately dedicated part of a church, or a small independent churchlike edifice, devoted to special services.

3. a room or building for worship in an institution, palace, etc.

4. (in Great Britain) a place of worship for members of various dissenting Protestant churches, as Baptists or Methodists.

5. a separate place of public worship dependent on the church of a parish.

6. a religious service in a chapel.

   Don't be late for chapel!

7. a funeral home or the room in which funeral services are held.

8. a choir or orchestra of a chapel, court, etc.

9. a print shop or printing house.

10. an association of employees in a print shop for dealing with their interests, problems, etc.

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verb (used with object)

chapeled, chapeling, chapelled, chapelling

1. Nautical. to maneuver (a sailing vessel taken aback) by the helm alone until the wind can be recovered on the original tack.

adjective

1. (in England) belonging to any of various dissenting Protestant sects.

chapel British  

/ ˈtʃæpəl /

noun

1. a place of Christian worship in a larger building, esp a place set apart, with a separate altar, in a church or cathedral

2. a similar place of worship in or attached to a large house or institution, such as a college, hospital or prison

3. a church subordinate to a parish church

4. 1. a Nonconformist place of worship

   2. Nonconformist religious practices or doctrine

   3. ( as adjective ) Compare church

      he is chapel, but his wife is church

5. (in Scotland) a Roman Catholic church

6. the members of a trade union in a particular newspaper office, printing house, etc

7. a printing office

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Etymology

Origin of chapel

1175–1225; Middle English chapele < Old French < Late Latin cappella hooded cloak, equivalent to capp ( a ) ( cap ¹ ) + -ella diminutive suffix; first applied to the sanctuary where the cloak of St. Martin (4th-century bishop of Tours) was kept as a relic

Example Sentences

Her grandfather was a deacon and mother played an organ in the Presbyterian chapel.

From BBC

In 1961 a new college of the University of Cambridge voted to approve the construction of an Anglican chapel.

From The Wall Street Journal

She continued: "Near the chapel is the children's hospital. There are staff here who specialise in play therapy, softening the anxiety of a hospital stay, and speeding up recovery."

From BBC

"It's producing fragments of building stone, so it might be structural. We might be thinking of a small shrine or a chapel," says Dr Andy Seaman, from Cardiff University, who is leading the dig.

From BBC

Nearing 40, she quit acting and spent the rest of her life bouncing between her Saint-Tropez beach house and a farm — complete with a chapel — outside Paris.

From Los Angeles Times

Related Words

• church
• sanctuary
• shrine