chancellor
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chancellor¹
- /ˈtʃɑːnsələ/ UK
- /ˈtʃɑːnslə/ UK
- /ˈt͡ʃænsələ/ US
- /-lɚ/ US
- /ˈt͡ʃænslɚ/ US
Where it comes from
From Anglo-Norman or Middle English chaunceler, chanceler, canceler (“chief administrative or executive officer of a ruler; chancellor, secretary; private secretary, scribe; Lord Chancellor of England; officer of the ruler's exchequer; a high administrative or executive officer (for example, a deputy or representative of a bishop; the head of a university)”), from Old French cancelier, chancelier (“chancellor”), from Late Latin cancellārius (“secretary; doorkeeper, porter; usher of a court of law stationed at the bars separating the public from the judges”), from Latin cancellī (plural of cancellus (“grate; bars, barrier; railings”), diminutive of cancer (“grid; barrier”), from Proto-Italic *karkros (“enclosure”), ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *(s)ker- (“to bend, turn”)) + -ārius (suffix forming nouns denoting an agent of use). Equivalent to chancel + -or. Piecewise doublet of canceler.
The word was present as Late Old English canceler, cancheler, from Norman cancheler, but was displaced in the 13th century by the Old French and Anglo-Norman forms mentioned above.
noun chancellors · chanceler · chanceller · chancellour · chancelor · chancelour
- A senior secretary or official with administrative or legal duties, sometimes in charge of some area of government such as finance or justice. Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster
- Ellipsis of Chancellor of the Exchequer [page 111] […] Lord Falkland […] took an Opportunity to tell the King, that He had now a good Opportunity to prefer Mr. Hyde, by making him Chancellor of the Exchequer, in the Place of Sir John Colepepper; […] [page 112] He [Colepepper] ſurrendered his Office of Chancellor of the Exchequer: And the
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The head of the government in some German-speaking countries.
the Austrian Chancellor
Similar: Reichskanzler
- A senior record keeper of a cathedral; a senior legal officer for a bishop or diocese in charge of hearing cases involving ecclesiastical law. The Chancellor, as he is commonly called, who presides in the Diocesan Court, is appointed by the Bishop to the two ancient offices of Vicar General and Official Principal. When the Bishop, as was frequently the case, was absent from the Diocese, or for any other reason was unable to act in person,
- The head of a university, sometimes purely ceremonial. When the extremely arduous duties of the Prime Minister’s [Robert Gascoyne-Cecil, 3rd Marquess of Salisbury’s] political life are considered, it will be understood that, if the Chancellorship of the University entailed any serious amount of work, it would have been impossible for him to continue in
- The foreman of a jury. "Have you agreed on your chancellor, gentlemen?" was the first question of the Judge. The foreman, called in Scotland the chancellor of the jury, usually the man of best rank and estimation among the assizers, stepped forward, and, with a low reverence, delivered to the Court a sealed paper, contain
- The chief judge of a court of chancery (that is, one exercising equity jurisdiction). The state [of Virginia, USA] is divided into 9 chancery districts, in each of which a superiour court of chancery is held. There are 4 chancellors.
- A fairy chess piece which combines the moves of the rook and the knight.
Chancellor²
noun Chancellors
- An honorific for the head of state in various German-speaking states. The other option – typified by the unapologetically noncharismatic leaders of Britain and Germany, Prime Minister Keir Starmer and Chancellor Friedrich Merz – has been to persuade the electorate they’ll work hard to deliver sustainable policy results on issues like immigration, and above all, econom
- Ellipsis of Chancellor of the Exchequer
proper noun
- A surname.
- A hamlet in Wheatland County, Alberta, Canada, named after the Chancellor of Germany by settlers.
- An unincorporated community in Geneva County, Alabama.
- A town in Turner County, South Dakota, named for Chancellor Otto von Bismarck.
- An unincorporated community in Spotsylvania County, Virginia.
Thesaurus
Closest in meaning: prime minister, premier, chancellery, councillor, councilor, chancellory, vice-chancellor, registrar, supervisor, aide, counsellor, counselor, justice, consultant, counsel, treasury
Translations
Every language
noun 1. senior secretary or official with administrative or legal duties, sometimes in charge of some area of government
| Español | canciller, chanciller, canceller |
|---|---|
| हिन्दी | चांसलर cānslar, चैंसेलर cainselar |
| Kiswahili | kansela |
| Português | chanceler |
| Français | chancelier, chancelière |
| Deutsch | Kanzler, Kanzlerin |
| Italiano | cancelliere |
| Ελληνικά | καγκελάριος kagkelários, πρωτοσύγκελλος protosýgkellos |
| Română | cancelar, cancelară |
| Русский | ка́нцлер káncler |
| العربية | مُسْتَشَار mustašār, مُسْتَشَارَة mustašāra |
noun 2. head of government in some German-speaking countries
| Español | canciller |
|---|---|
| 한국어 | 수상 susang, 재상 jaesang |
| 日本語 | 首相 shushō, 宰相 saishō |
| 中文 | 總理 /总理 zǒnglǐ, 大臣 dàchén |
| हिन्दी | चैंसेलर cainselar, चांसलर cānslar |
| Kiswahili | kansela |
| Português | chanceler |
| Français | chancelier, chancelière |
| Deutsch | Bundeskanzler, Bundeskanzlerin, Kanzler, Kanzlerin, Reichskanzler, Reichskanzlerin |
| Italiano | cancelliere |
| Ελληνικά | καγκελάριος kagkelários |
| Română | cancelar, cancelară |
| Русский | ка́нцлер káncler |
| Tiếng Việt | tể tướng, thủ tướng |
| العربية | مُسْتَشَار mustašār, مُسْتَشَارَة mustašāra |
| עברית | קַנְצְלֶר kántsler |
noun 3. senior record keeper of a cathedral; senior legal officer for a bishop or diocese
| Español | cancelario, canciller, maestreescuela, maestrescuela |
|---|
noun 4. head of a university
| हिन्दी | कुलाधिपति kulādhipti, चांसलर cānslar, चैंसेलर cainselar |
|---|---|
| Kiswahili | kansela |
| Deutsch | Kanzler, Dekan |
| Русский | ре́ктор réktor |
noun 5. foreman of a jury
| Français | contremaître de jury |
|---|---|
| Русский | старшина́ прися́жных staršiná prisjážnyx |
Talk about this word "chancellor." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/chancellor. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026. chancellor. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/chancellor "chancellor." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/chancellor.Cite this
@misc{chancellor_2026,
title = {chancellor},
howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
year = {2026},
url = {https://micwyn.com/word/chancellor},
urldate = {2026-11-06}
}
