chaplain
Americannoun
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an ecclesiastic attached to the chapel of a royal court, college, etc., or to a military unit.
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a person who says the prayer, invocation, etc., for an organization or at an assembly.
noun
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Etymology
Origin of chaplain
before 1100; Middle English chapelain < Middle French < Late Latin cappellānus custodian of St. Martin's cloak ( see chapel, -an); replacing Old English capellan < Late Latin, as above
Explanation
A chaplain is usually a religious leader — a minister, rabbi, or other clergy member — who works outside of a church or temple. You can use the word chaplain to describe the minister who counsels patients at your local hospital. Or, a chaplain could also be a priest who lives and works with soldiers on a battlefield (a military chaplain). These days, many chaplains are non-denominational, not associated with any particular religion. The Latin root word, cappellanus, means "clergyman."
Vocabulary lists containing chaplain
I Am Malala
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The Wednesday Wars
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Tolkien Reading Day, List 11
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
For example, articles on how Christianity addresses contemporary problems by Catholic Bishop Fulton Sheen and Columbia University Chaplain James A. Pike appeared in Vogue alongside ads for makeup and fashion photo shoots.
From Salon • May 17, 2026
Earlier that morning, Father Frank Cancro, 74, the National Circus Chaplain, laid out water, wine, communion wafers and a cross on a folding table adorned with a black tablecloth.
From Los Angeles Times • Sep. 19, 2024
“That’s a change to your whole launch operations,” said Chaplain, the space analyst.
From Seattle Times • Jan. 5, 2024
Rev. Dr. Margaret Grun Kibben who is the Chaplain of the United States House of Representatives recited the prayer for the vigil.
From Washington Times • Oct. 13, 2023
“Only what, Chaplain ?” “Sir,” said the chaplain, “some of the men are very upset since you raised the number of missions to sixty. They’ve asked me to speak to you about it.”
From "Catch-22" by Joseph Heller
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
