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"chapter (of a book)" in seven languages

Meaningchapter (of a book)

Spanish

capítulo

/kaˈpitulo/

masc.learned

The inherited heir, cabildo, means a cathedral chapter or a town council.

French

chapitre

/ʃapitʁ/

masc.learned

Semi-learned: the ch- is popular, the -itre ending is not.

Italian

capitolo

/kaˈpitolo/

masc.learned

Portuguese

capítulo

/kaˈpitulu/

masc.learned

Romanian

capitol

/kaˈpitol/

neut.learned

Catalan

capítol

/kəˈpitul/

masc.learned

English

chapter

/ˈtʃæptɚ/

from Latin/French · Old French chapitre

English → Italianchapter (of a book)capitoloCognateSame source — inherited, learned or borrowed. You can recognize it.What English and Italian share

The Latin ancestor

CAPITULUM‘little head; heading (from CAPUT 'head')’

All six sisters descend from it, unless marked otherwise below.

The story

A chapter is a 'little head' — the heading over a section of text. Spanish keeps a fully worn-down twin, cabildo, for a body of canons or councillors.

English relatives: capital, capitulate, recapitulate

Sound laws at work

French CA becomes cha

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In a sentence

  • esLeo un capítulo cada noche.
  • frJe lis un chapitre chaque soir.
  • itLeggo un capitolo ogni sera.
  • ptLeio um capítulo toda noite.
  • roCitesc un capitol în fiecare seară.
  • caLlegeixo un capítol cada nit.
  • enI read a chapter every night.

The Latin family

CAPUT, CAPIT-· head

Classical CAPUT survived in Spanish, French and Italian only as the 'head' of things — cabo 'end, cape', chef 'chief', capo 'boss' — while the body part itself got new words (Spanish and Portuguese cabeza, cabeça from *CAPITIA; French tête and Italian testa from TESTA 'pot'). Romanian and Catalan never let go: cap is still the head on your shoulders. CAPITĀLE 'main property' gave the most surprising doublet: popular caudal and cheptel, English cattle and chattel, beside learned capital.

  • CAPUThead

    escabofrchefitcapoptcaborocapcacapenchief

  • *CAPITIAhead (spoken Latin)

    escabezaptcabeça

  • CAPITĀLEchief property, stock

    escaudalfrcheptelptcabedalcacabalencattle

  • CAPITĀLEMof the head, principal (learned)

    escapitalfrcapitalitcapitaleptcapitalrocapitalcacapitalencapital

  • CAPITULUMlittle head; heading, chapter

    escapítulofrchapitreitcapitoloptcapítulorocapitolcacapítolenchapter

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