chapter

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

Chapter’s story begins in Latin: capitulum meant “a little head, a small division.” Literally a little head, a diminutive of caput (head), describing a book's small division. By medieval, the word had taken hold in Old French as chapitre. Carried into French for a division of a written work. It reached English by 1200s as chapter. Settled as the English word for a main division of a book. Today, chapter means a main division of a book, or a local branch of an organization.

1. Stage 1 · Latin · ancient capitulum "a little head, a small division", literally a little head, a diminutive of caput (head), describing a book's small division.
2. Stage 2 · Old French · medieval chapitre "a division of a book", carried into French for a division of a written work.
3. Stage 3 · English · 1200s chapter "a main division of a written work", settled as the English word for a main division of a book.