What does chapiter mean?
A chapiter is the capital of a column: the flared, decorative block at the very top of the shaft that spreads the weight of the roof, arch, or beam it carries. In classical architecture the chapiter may be plain or richly ornamented, as in the scrolling volutes of the Ionic order or the acanthus leaves of the Corinthian. The word is closely tied to biblical English, appearing in the King James translation's account of the bronze pillars Jachin and Boaz, whose chapiters were cast with nets, pomegranates, and lilies. Though "capital" has largely displaced it in modern architectural vocabulary, "chapiter" retains a dignified, historical flavor, prized by scholars, restorers, and writers who want precision or an archaic register when describing the crowned head of a pillar.
nounA chapiter is the capital of a column — the widened uppermost part that sits on top of the shaft and supports the load of the architrave or arch above. The term is used chiefly in architecture and biblical scholarship.
- The capital or crowning member of a column or pillar, especially in classical or biblical architecture.
"The bronze chapiters of the temple pillars were adorned with carved pomegranates and lily work."
"Each marble column was crowned with a Corinthian chapiter carved with acanthus leaves."
"In the King James Bible, Hiram's craftsmen cast two great brass chapiters to set upon the pillars of the temple porch."
Regular plural; commonly pluralized when describing paired pillars such as those of a temple porch.
"The two great pillars each bore chapiters of molten brass, five cubits high."
A chapiter isn't a misspelled chapter — it's the crown of a column, and the word literally descends from Latin 'little head.'
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Etymology of chapiter
Chapiter entered Middle English from Old French chapitel, itself derived from Late Latin capitellum, a diminutive of caput, meaning "head." It is thus a doublet of "capital," which reached English by a different route through Latin capitale, and both words ultimately point to the same image of a column's "little head." The word has carried its architectural sense since medieval times and was cemented in English by early modern Bible translations.
How chapiter is actually used
"Chapiter" is a technical and somewhat literary term; "capital" is the standard word in everyday architectural usage. "Chapiter" survives most naturally in discussions of ancient architecture and in translations of the Bible, where it renders the Hebrew descriptions of pillar capitals.
Easily confused with chapiter
A chapter is a division of a book or a branch of an organization, whereas a chapiter is the capital (top) of a column; the words share a Latin root but differ entirely in meaning.