name · noun · 4 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot
Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.
Sound
Pronunciation
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/ˈt͡ʃæp.lɪn/
US:Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
CMU ARPABET:CH AE1 P L AH0 N
Digits mark lexical stress: 1 primary, 2 secondary, 0 unstressed.
1
name
Meaning 1
A surname.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
2
noun
Meaning 2
A member of a religious body (who is often, although not always, of the clergy) officially assigned to provide pastoral care at an institution, group, private chapel, etc.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
3
noun
Meaning 3
A person without religious affiliation who carries out similar duties in a secular context.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
4
noun
Meaning 4
a clergyman ministering to some institution
Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
Broader terms: clergyman, reverend, man of the cloth
Narrower terms: prison chaplain, hospital chaplain, military chaplain, padre, Holy Joe, sky pilot
History
Etymology
Variant of Chaplin.
From Middle English chapeleyn, from Old French chapelain, from Medieval Latin, Late Latin cappellānus, from cappella. Doublet of capelin. Displaced Old English handprēost.
Across languages
Translations
75 source translations are retained for this English entry.
Albanian:
kapelan
— member of a religious body
Arabic:
قِسِّيس
(qissīs)
— member of a religious body
Arabic:
قَسّ
(qass)
— member of a religious body
Arabic:
قِسّ
(qiss)
— member of a religious body
Arabic:
كَاهِن
(kāhin)
— member of a religious body
Armenian:
կապելլան
(kapellan)
— member of a religious body
Belarusian:
капела́н
(kapjelán)
— member of a religious body
Bulgarian:
капела́н
(kapelán)
— member of a religious body
Carpathian Rusyn:
капла́н
(kaplán)
— member of a religious body
Catalan:
capellà
— member of a religious body
Chinese Mandarin:
牧師 /牧师
(mùshī)
— member of a religious body
Czech:
kaplan
— member of a religious body
Danish:
kapellan
— member of a religious body
Dutch:
kapelaan
— member of a religious body
Estonian:
kaplan
— member of a religious body
Finnish:
kappalainen
— member of a religious body
French:
aumônier
— member of a religious body
French:
chapelain
— member of a religious body
Galician:
capelán
— member of a religious body
Georgian:
კაპელანი
(ḳaṗelani)
— member of a religious body
German:
Kaplan
— member of a religious body
German:
Kaplanin
— member of a religious body
German:
Seelsorger
— member of a religious body
German:
Seelsorgerin
— member of a religious body
German:
Gefängnisseelsorger
— member of a religious body
German:
Gefängnisseelsorgerin
— member of a religious body
German:
Krankenhausseelsorger
— member of a religious body
German:
Krankenhausseelsorgerin
— member of a religious body
Greek:
καπελάνος
(kapelános)
— member of a religious body
Hungarian:
káplán
— member of a religious body
Icelandic:
kapellán
— member of a religious body
Indonesian:
kapelan
— member of a religious body
Irish:
séiplíneach
— member of a religious body
Italian:
cappellano
— member of a religious body
Japanese:
チャプレン
(chapuren)
— member of a religious body
Japanese:
チャップレン
(chappuren)
— member of a religious body
Japanese:
軍僧
(gunsō)
— member of a religious body
Japanese:
牧師
(bokushi)
— member of a religious body
Kazakh:
капеллан
(kapellan)
— member of a religious body
Korean:
담당사제
(damdangsaje)
— member of a religious body
Korean:
사제
(saje)
— member of a religious body
Korean:
목사
(moksa)
— member of a religious body
Kyrgyz:
капеллан
(kapellan)
— member of a religious body
Latin:
capellanus
— member of a religious body
Latvian:
kapelāns
— member of a religious body
Lithuanian:
kapelionas
— member of a religious body
Macedonian:
капела́н
(kapelán)
— member of a religious body
Maltese:
kappillan
— member of a religious body
Māori:
tiaparani
— member of a religious body
Middle English:
chapeleyn
— member of a religious body
Norman:
aumônyi
— member of a religious body
Norwegian Bokmål:
kapellan
— member of a religious body
Norwegian Bokmål:
feltprest
— member of a religious body
Norwegian Nynorsk:
kapellan
— member of a religious body
Norwegian Nynorsk:
feltprest
— member of a religious body
Old English:
handprēost
— member of a religious body
Old Galician-Portuguese:
capelan
— member of a religious body
Iranian Persian:
کَشیش
(kašiš)
— member of a religious body
Iranian Persian:
قِسّیس
(ġessis)
— member of a religious body
Polish:
kapelan
— member of a religious body
Portuguese:
capelão
— member of a religious body
Romanian:
capelan
— member of a religious body
Russian:
капелла́н
(kapellán)
— member of a religious body
Serbo-Croatian:
капѐла̄н
— member of a religious body
Serbo-Croatian:
kapèlān
— member of a religious body
Slovak:
kaplán
— member of a religious body
Slovene:
kaplan
— member of a religious body
Spanish:
capellán
— member of a religious body
Swedish:
kaplan
— member of a religious body
Tagalog:
kapelyan
— member of a religious body
Tajik:
капеллан
(kapellan)
— member of a religious body
Ukrainian:
капела́н
(kapelán)
— member of a religious body
Ukrainian:
капеля́н
(kapelján)
— member of a religious body