cancellus

American  

[kan-sel-uhs] / kænˈsɛl əs /

noun

Architecture.

plural

cancelli

1. (in an early Christian basilica) one of a row of bars separating the clergy and sometimes the choir from the congregation.

2. (in an ancient Roman basilica) one of a row of bars separating the court personnel from the spectators.

3. cancelli, a screen of such bars.

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Etymology

Origin of cancellus

< Latin, equivalent to canc ( rī ) grating (plural of cancer, apparently dissimilated form of carcer prison) + -ellus diminutive suffix

Example Sentences

Chancel is derived, through Fr. chancel or cancel, from Lat. cancellus, a cross-bar, occurring more usually in the plural in the sense of lattice, grating.

From The Romance of Words (4th ed.) by Weekley, Ernest