chapter
Definitions
A main division of a book, usually numbered or titled.
章，回（书的主要分段）。
A distinct period or phase in a life, history, or story.
（人生、历史的）一个时期，阶段。
A local branch of an organization or society.
（组织、社团的）分会，分部。
Root Breakdown
Root-derivedFrom Latin capitulum, 'little head' (a diminutive of caput). Each section of a book was marked by a heading — a 'little head' at its top — so chapter came to name the section under that heading, and then any distinct phase: a new chapter in one's life.
Root capit still carries 24 more wordsWhy It Means This
Chapter literally means 'little head.' Medieval books labeled each section with a heading, and the Latin for such a heading was capitulum — a small caput. Over time the label became the thing it labeled: the chapter is now the section itself. The figurative 'new chapter' (a fresh phase of life) keeps the idea of a clean heading marking a new start. The 'branch of a society' sense came from chapters of monks who met to read a chapter of their rule aloud.
Common Collocations
- 1.new chapter新篇章
- 2.chapter and verse详细准确的引证
- 3.final chapter最后一章
- 4.local chapter地方分会
- 5.opening chapter开篇
Example Sentences
- 1.
I finished the last chapter of the novel on the train.
- 2.
Moving abroad opened a new chapter in her life.
- 3.
The club has chapters in over thirty cities.