chapel

Where does the word "chapel" come from? It comes from Late Latin cappa, passing through Old French before entering English (1200s).

Chapel’s story begins in Late Latin: cappa meant “a cloak.” A cloak, referring to a relic cloak of Saint Martin of Tours kept in a small shrine. By medieval, the word had taken hold in Old French as chapele. The shrine housing the relic cloak lent its name to small sacred buildings generally. It reached English by 1200s as chapel. Settled as the English word for a small place of Christian worship. Today, chapel means a small building or room used for Christian worship, often part of a larger structure.

1. Stage 1 · Late Latin · medieval cappa "a cloak", a cloak, referring to a relic cloak of Saint Martin of Tours kept in a small shrine.
2. Stage 2 · Old French · medieval chapele "a small sacred building", the shrine housing the relic cloak lent its name to small sacred buildings generally.
3. Stage 3 · English · 1200s chapel "a small place of Christian worship", settled as the English word for a small place of Christian worship.