Chapel: Definition, Usage & Key Differences

Meaning 1：small place of worship (chapel)

chapel 🔊

/ˈtʃæp.əl/

A small building, or a room inside a larger building like a school or hospital, where people go to pray, hold religious services, or get married.

Chapel illustration: a small stone worship building with stained glass window on a green lawn

small place of worship 🔊

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/smɔːl pleɪs ɒv ˈwɜːʃɪp/

A modest building or designated room within a larger institution used for Christian worship, prayer, or ceremonies like weddings.

📁 Category：Buildings & Places 🔖 Level：初级

📘 Details & Usage

📖 Root Explanation

From Latin 'cappella' (little cloak or hood), diminutive of 'cappa' (cloak).

💡 Mnemonic

CHAPEL sounds like ‘chapel’ but think of a ‘cap’ (small covering) over a place for prayer.

📖 Example

They decided to have their wedding ceremony in the chapel on the university campus, as it was where they first met. 🔊 They decided to have their wedding ceremony in the small place of worship on the university campus, as it was where they first met.

🔗 Collocations

university chapel – a chapel belonging to or located within a university

private chapel – a chapel reserved for the use of a specific family or group

to attend chapel – to go to a service held in a chapel

🔄 Synonyms

oratory (n.) – A small private chapel, especially one for prayer and contemplation.

shrine (n.) – A place regarded as holy because of its associations with a deity or sacred person; often smaller than a church.

chantry (n.) – A chapel or altar endowed for priests to sing masses for the founder's soul; historical term for a small chapel.

🚫 Antonyms

cathedral (n.) – The principal church of a diocese, containing the bishop's throne, typically large and grand.

🌱 Derivatives

chaplain (n.) – A member of the clergy attached to a private chapel, institution, or military unit.

chapelry (n.) – The district or area under the care of a chapel; a parish dependent on a mother church.

📖 Cultural Story

The word originates from the story of St. Martin of Tours. His preserved cloak (Latin: cappella) was kept as a sacred relic in a special shrine. This shrine and the priests who guarded it came to be called 'cappella'. The term entered English as 'chapel', broadening to mean any small place of worship.