Chapter

Chapter has multiple meanings. In general, the word connotates a division or separation of some type.

• A chapter is one of the main divisions of a piece of writing of relative length, such as a book, being comprised of multiple pages. Chapters can be numbered in the case of such writings as law code (see Chapter 7 or Chapter 11), or they can be titled. For example, the first chapters of some well-known novels are titled:
  • "Down the Rabbit-Hole" – Alice's Adventures in Wonderland, Lewis Carroll
  • "Into the Primitive" – The Call of the Wild, Jack London
  • "Loomings" – Moby-Dick, Herman Melville
  • "The Prison-Door" – The Scarlet Letter, Nathaniel Hawthorne
  • "The Sound of the Shell" – Lord of the Flies, William G. Golding

• A chapter is a distinct period of time or order of events, as in history or in a person's life. For example, the American Civil War could be called a chapter in American history, just as the years a person spent in college could be called a chapter in his or her life.

• A chapter is a local branch of an organization, such as a charity or service organization, club, fraternity or sorority, or alumni group. For example, the Sierra Club, a North American environmental protection organization, maintains more than 60 chapters across the United States.

• Chapters is a large bookstore chain in Canada.