kapitlet

Kapitlet is the definite singular form of the noun kapit... in several Scandinavian languages, most notably Swedish, Norwegian (Bokmål), and Danish. It means “the chapter,” a subdivision of a book, document, or other structured text. The form kapitlet is used when referring to a specific chapter that is known from context.

Etymology and related forms provide a sense of continuity across languages. The word derives from the Latin capitulum, meaning a small head or heading, and entered Germanic and Romance language areas through historical borrowing. In these languages, the base form kapit- or kapit-el becomes kapitlet in its definite form, with the definite suffixes varying by language but sharing the same core meaning.

Usage and function are straightforward. Kapitlet is employed in literary, academic, and legal writing to denote a particular chapter under discussion. It appears in prose as a definite reference to a specific section, for example when summarizing content found elsewhere in the text or when guiding readers to a given portion of a work. In many contexts, the open-ended form kapitler (or kapitler/kapitler) refers to chapters in general, while kapitlet denotes a specific, identified chapter.

In summary, kapitlet is the definite form of the word for a chapter in several Scandinavian languages, used to identify a particular section within a larger work. It shares its etymology with related terms in European languages and functions as a standard term in literature, instruction, and legal and scholarly writing.