chap·ter 
(chăptər)
(chăptər)n.
1.
a. One of the main divisions of a relatively lengthy piece of writing, such as a book, that is usually numbered or titled.
b. One of the main divisions of a video recording, usually accessible through an onscreen menu.
2. A distinct period or sequence of events, as in history or a person's life: Steamboat travel opened a new chapter in America's exploration of the West.
3. A local branch of an organization, such as a club or fraternity: The Chicago chapter is admitting new members this year.
4. Ecclesiastical
a. An assembly of the canons of a church or of the members of a religious residence.
b. The canons of a church or the members of a religious residence considered as a group.
5. A short scriptural passage read after the psalms in certain church services.
[Middle English chaptre, variant of chapitre, chapter, chapiter, from Old French, alteration of chapitle, from Latin capitulum, diminutive of caput, head; see kaput- in the Appendix of Indo-European roots.]