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military chaplain

military chaplain

1 5.7
A religious leader who gives comfort and advice to soldiers in the armed forces
  • noun
  • /ˈmɪlɪˌtɛri ˈʧæplɪn/
translation icon : capellán militar
  • The military chaplain provided comfort and guidance to the soldiers during difficult times.
  • U.S. military chaplain

OK, well Padres, military chaplains were pretty common in every army during that war, and of course they still accompany armies today.

Examples

  • Addressing a 1996 conference of military chaplains in Atlanta, Stecker said:

    Academic text (1997)
  • I'm a military chaplain, and I work with Catholic chaplains regularly who might disagree with what you were taught as well.

    Blog text (26)
  • I was a military chaplain.

  • During this war, Adventist military chaplains, who were paid by the armed forces and had military careers,

    Academic text (1998)
  • Since then, military chaplains have been appointed to many military units, though to some extent this is dependent upon the wishes of individual commanders.

    Academic text (2007)
  • OK, well Padres, military chaplains were pretty common in every army during that war, and of course they still accompany armies today.

  • She passed up a man who was addicted to porn to marry a military chaplain.

    Blog text (18)
  • A third officer, Chuck Stecker, a retired Special Forces lieutenant colonel, has been organizing PK within the military with the aid of some military chaplains.

    Academic text (1997)
  • The Military Religious Freedom Foundation chided the general for endorsing "Under Orders: A Spiritual Handbook for Military Personnel," a book by former military chaplain William McCoy that the foundation says promotes Christianity and denigrates non-religious soldiers.

    Blog text (2)
  • He often turned to the military chaplain for spiritual advice while serving overseas.

Synonyms

chaplain
vsmilitary chaplain
96 7.2

A religious person who leads services and gives support at schools, hospitals, or in the army

is limited to serving military personnel rather than many institutions
padre
vsmilitary chaplain
  • Jargon
3 7.5

A priest who serves as a chaplain and supports soldiers

is identical in meaning but uses a different form of the name
Holy Joe
vsmilitary chaplain
  • Offensive
1 9.9

A military religious leader who soldiers call as a joke or insult

is neutral and respectful rather than humorous or disparaging
sky pilot
vsmilitary chaplain
  • Archaic
9.4

A military religious leader who gives comfort and support to soldiers

is the neutral professional term rather than an informal name

Surface Forms

Morphology

military + chaplain

The meaning is directly and transparently derived from combining 'military' (related to the armed forces) with 'chaplain' (a clergy member providing religious support), yielding a chaplain who serves military personnel. This noun–noun modifier pattern is common and cross-linguistically regular, so a B1 learner who knows both constituents will readily understand the phrase.

Etymology

The compound noun military chaplain comes from the simple picture of a religious helper walking with soldiers to lead prayers and give comfort. Here military means the soldiers and chaplain means the religious helper, so the phrase now means 'a chaplain who serves in a branch of the armed forces, providing religious support and counseling'.