Word Origin Atlas

Exact historical dictionary sense

Chapter in Webster's 1913 dictionary

The 1913 record labels chapter as noun. Its source-bounded etymology and selected historical definition appear below.

WEBSTER 1913noun
Chapter

[OF. chapitre, F. chapitre, fr. L. capitulum, dim. of caput head, the chief person or thing, the principal division of a writing, chapter. See Chief, and cf, Chapiter.]

Cross-verified historical sense
The source text may be outdated. The page preserves that historical boundary.
Cross-verified 1913 record
Headwordchapter
Part of speechnoun
Historical etymology[OF. chapitre, F. chapitre, fr. L. capitulum, dim. of caput head, the chief person or thing, the principal division of a writing, chapter. See Chief, and cf, Chapiter.]
Selected historical definitionA division of a book or treatise; as, Genesis has fifty chapters.
Signed record IDwebster1913-chapter-noun-7ca6a83de652
Source locatorCIDE.C, paragraph 5501; Gutenberg eBook 661
Edition-scoped answerNot earliest-attestation proofNot modern consensus
Independent historical textProject Gutenberg section 661Signed structural record sourceGNU GCIDE 0.54 archive
Quick answer

In Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913), "chapter" is labeled noun. Its etymology is recorded as: "[OF. chapitre, F. chapitre, fr. L. capitulum, dim. of caput head, the chief person or thing, the principal division of a writing, chapter. See Chief, and cf, Chapiter.]" The selected historical definition says: "A division of a book or treatise; as, Genesis has fifty chapters."

Project Gutenberg Webster 1913 plus signed GNU GCIDE 0.54 Exact cross-verified historical record reviewed 2026-10-04

What this answer proves

One named sense in one historical dictionary edition.

The answer reports the selected headword, part of speech, etymology, definition, and source locator as transcribed in the cross-verified 1913 record.

Evidence boundaryIt does not establish the earliest attestation or a complete borrowing chain.It does not claim current scholarly consensus or a modern dictionary definition.Historical dictionary text may be obsolete, incomplete, inaccurate, or offensive by modern standards.

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[AS. caru, cearu; akin to OS. kara sorrow, Goth. kara, OHG chara, lament, and perh. to Gr. gh^rys voice. Not akin to cure. Cf. Chary.]

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Change

[F. change, fr. changer. See Change. v. t.]

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Came

[Cf. Scot. came, caim, comb, and OE. camet silver.]

Webster 1913 exact recordnoun

Course

[F. cours, course, L. cursus, fr. currere to run. See Current.]

Webster 1913 exact record

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