Meaning & use
chapas
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Meaning
nounusually pluralraremilitary
Official passes or written permits, especially ones issued to travelers or soldiers in the Ottoman Empire.
Grammar: Almost always plural in English: 'the chapas were checked at the gate'. The singular form chapa is rare.
Patterns
- issue chapas
- show one's chapas
Travelers needed chapas to move between provinces.
The officer examined their chapas before letting them through the gate.
Without valid chapas, the merchants could not enter the city.
Word forms
| singular | chapa |
|---|
Common combinations
- issue chapas
- The governor issued chapas to a few trusted traders.
- show one's chapas
- They had to show their chapas at every checkpoint.
- valid chapas
- Only travelers with valid chapas were allowed on the road.
Synonyms and how they differ
- passes
- The everyday English word for documents that let you go somewhere; chapas is the historical, technical term.
- permits
- Permits are official documents allowing an activity; chapas were specifically travel or military passes.
Commonly confused: chapas or chaps?
chapas vs chaps
Chaps can mean leather leg coverings worn by riders, or, informally, men. It is not related to chapas.
Practice
In historical writing, what were 'chapas'?
Choose one answer.
Chapas were official passes or permits, often checked at checkpoints. Leather trousers are 'chaps', and the other options confuse chapas with money or clothing.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “chapas”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.