chancery

[ chan-suh-ree, chahn- ]
/ ˈtʃæn sə ri, ˈtʃɑn- /

noun, plural chan·cer·ies.

the office or department of a chancellor; chancellery.
an office of public records, especially those of the Lord Chancellor in England.
(in England) the Lord Chancellor's court, now a division of the High Court of Justice.
Law.
  1. Also called court of chancery. a court having jurisdiction in equity; court of equity.
  2. equity(defs 3a, b).
the administrative office of a diocese.
Roman Catholic Church. a department of the Curia Romana now having the responsibility for issuing bulls to establish new dioceses, benefices, etc.

Idioms for chancery

    in chancery,
    1. Law. in litigation in a court of chancery.
    2. Wrestling, Boxing. (of a contestant's head) held under an opponent's arm.
    3. in a helpless or embarrassing position.

Origin of chancery

1325–75; Middle English chancerie, variant of chancelrie, syncopated variant of chancellerie chancellery

Words nearby chancery

chancellor of the exchequer, chancellorship, chancellorsville, chancellorsville, battle of, chancer, chancery, chancre, chancriform, chancroid, chancy, chandelier

Example sentences from the Web for chancery

British Dictionary definitions for chancery

chancery
/ (ˈtʃɑːnsərɪ) /

noun plural -ceries

Word Origin for chancery

C14: shortened from chancellery