a circus tent, or any similar set-up used for spectacles or events; the capital of a column, baluster or similar structure; the conical part at the front end of a rocket; the top part of an alembic, where condensation occurs
“Du persil, du cresson, de la fougère et de mille autres végétaux communs, ils tirent des chapiteaux ou des frises d'une beauté de ligne, d'une hardiesse et d'une sûreté d'interprétation qui nous étonnent et nous émerveillent.” — From parsley, watercress, ferns, and a thousand other common plants, they derive capitals and friezes of a linear beauty—of a boldness and sureness of interpretation—that astonish and amaze us.
Inherited from Old French chapitel, from Late Latin capitellum (likely a semi-learned borrowing), from Latin capitulum, ultimately from caput (“head”), whence also French chef. Doublet of cadeau and cadet, borrowings from Occitan, and caudillo, a borrowing from Spanish.