from
The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48
Chapel \Chap"el\, n. [OF. chapele, F. chapelle, fr. LL. capella,
orig., a short cloak, hood, or cowl; later, a reliquary,
sacred vessel, chapel; dim. of cappa, capa, cloak, cape,
cope; also, a covering for the head. The chapel where St.
Martin's cloak was preserved as a precious relic, itself came
to be called capella, whence the name was applied to similar
paces of worship, and the guardian of this cloak was called
capellanus, or chaplain. See {Cap}, and cf. {Chaplain}.,
{Chaplet}.]
1. A subordinate place of worship; as,
(a) a small church, often a private foundation, as for a
memorial;
(b) a small building attached to a church;
(c) a room or recess in a church, containing an altar.
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Note: In Catholic churches, and also in cathedrals and abbey
churches, chapels are usually annexed in the recesses
on the sides of the aisles. --Gwilt.
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2. A place of worship not connected with a church; as, the
chapel of a palace, hospital, or prison.
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3. In England, a place of worship used by dissenters from the
Established Church; a meetinghouse.
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4. A choir of singers, or an orchestra, attached to the court
of a prince or nobleman.
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5. (Print.)
(a) A printing office, said to be so called because
printing was first carried on in England in a chapel
near Westminster Abbey.
(b) An association of workmen in a printing office.
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{Chapel of ease}.
(a) A chapel or dependent church built for the ease or a
accommodation of an increasing parish, or for
parishioners who live at a distance from the principal
church.
(b) A privy. (Law)
{Chapel master}, a director of music in a chapel; the
director of a court or orchestra.
{To build a chapel} (Naut.), to chapel a ship. See {Chapel},
v. t., 2.
{To hold a chapel}, to have a meeting of the men employed in
a printing office, for the purpose of considering
questions affecting their interests.
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