chap·lain

(chăp′lĭn)

1. A member of the clergy attached to a chapel.

a. A member of the clergy who conducts religious services for an institution, such as a prison or hospital.

b. A lay person who is appointed to provide spiritual leadership and counseling to members of an institution, as at a university.

c. A member of the clergy who is connected with a royal court or an aristocratic household.

3. A member of the clergy attached to a branch of the armed forces.

[Middle English chapelein, from Old French chapelain, from Medieval Latin capellānus, from capella, chapel; see chapel.]

chap′lain·cy, chap′lain·ship′ n.

American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

ThesaurusAntonymsRelated WordsSynonymsLegend:

Noun

chaplainship - the position of chaplain

chaplaincy

berth, billet, post, situation, position, office, place, spot - a job in an organization; "he occupied a post in the treasury"

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References in periodicals archive

Concludes Madison, "The establishment of the chaplainship to Congs is a palpable violation of equal rights, as well as of Constitutional principles."

How Did A Nation Founded On Separation Of Church And State End Up Paying For Prayers In Congress?

When the decision was released on 20 June 2012, however, only a scant few pages in the extremely lengthy opinion discussed the plaintiffs argument that the Program violated Section 116 of the Constitution, (12) and the vast majority of this discussion involved a technical analysis of whether a school chaplainship was an 'office or public trust under the Commonwealth.' (13)

Religion, secularism, and the National School Chaplaincy and Student Welfare Program

Within a short period of Horne's arrival at Freetown, tensions arose between the demands of the chaplainship and his missionary ambitions.

The legacy of Melvill Horne

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