Adjacent Words

Chaplain definitions

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Webster's 1828 Dictionary

CHAPLAIN, n.
1. An ecclesiastic who has a chapel, or who performs service in a chapel. The king of Great Britain has forty-eight chaplains, who attend, four each month, to perform divine service for the royal family. Princes also, and persons of quality have chaplains, who officiate in their chapels.
2. A clergyman who belongs to a ship of war, or to a regiment of land forces, for performing divine service.
3. A clergyman who is retained to perform divine service in a family.
Chaplains of the Pope, are auditors or judges of causes in the sacred palace.

WordNet (r) 3.0 (2005)

n
1: a clergyman ministering to some institution

Merriam Webster's

noun Etymology: Middle English chapelein, from Anglo-French, from Medieval Latin cappellanus, from cappella Date: 14th century 1. a clergyman in charge of a chapel 2. a clergyman officially attached to a branch of the military, to an institution, or to a family or court 3. a person chosen to conduct religious exercises (as at a meeting of a club or society) 4. a clergyman appointed to assist a bishop (as at a liturgical function) • chaplaincy noun

Oxford Reference Dictionary

n. a member of the clergy attached to a private chapel, institution, ship, regiment, etc. Derivatives: chaplaincy n. (pl. -ies). Etymology: ME f. AF & OF c(h)apelain f. med.L cappellanus, orig. custodian of the cloak of St Martin: see CHAPEL

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Chaplain Chap"lain, n. [F. chapelain, fr. LL. capellanus, fr. capella. See Chapel.] 1. An ecclesiastic who has a chapel, or who performs religious service in a chapel. 2. A clergyman who is officially attached to the army or navy, to some public institution, or to a family or court, for the purpose of performing divine service. 3. Any person (clergyman or layman) chosen to conduct religious exercises for a society, etc.; as, a chaplain of a Masonic or a temperance lodge.

Collin's Cobuild Dictionary

(chaplains) A chaplain is a member of the Christian clergy who does religious work in a place such as a hospital, school, prison, or in the armed forces. He joined the 40th Division as an army chaplain. N-COUNT: oft n N

Moby Thesaurus

DD, Doctor of Divinity, Grand Penitentiary, Holy Father, Holy Joe, abbe, abuna, antipope, archbishop, archdeacon, archpriest, bishop, bishop coadjutor, canon, cardinal, cardinal bishop, cardinal deacon, cardinal priest, churchman, clergyman, cleric, clerical, clerk, coadjutor, curate, cure, dean, diocesan, divine, ecclesiarch, ecclesiastic, exarch, hierarch, high priest, man of God, metropolitan, military chaplain, minister, padre, papa, parson, pastor, patriarch, penitentiary, pontiff, pope, prebendary, prelate, primate, rector, reverend, rural dean, servant of God, shepherd, sky pilot, subdean, suffragan, supply clergy, supply minister, the Reverend, the very Reverend, tonsured cleric, vicar