chancellor

[chan-suh-ler, -sler, chahn-]

noun

1. the chief minister of state in certain parliamentary governments, as in Germany; prime minister; premier.

2. the chief administrative officer in certain American universities.

3. a secretary, as to a king or noble or of an embassy.

4. the priest in charge of a Roman Catholic chancery.

5. the title of various important judges and other high officials.

6. (in some states of the U.S.) the judge of a court of equity or chancery.

7. British.,  the honorary, nonresident, titular head of a university.

chancellor

/ -slə, ˈtʃɑːnsələ /

noun

1. the head of the government in several European countries

2. the president of a university or, in some colleges, the chief administrative officer

3. the honorary head of a university Compare vice chancellor

4. (in some states) the presiding judge of a court of chancery or equity

5. the chief secretary of an embassy

6. Christianity a clergyman acting as the law officer of a bishop

7. archaic,  the chief secretary of a prince, nobleman, etc

Other Word Forms

• underchancellor noun
• chancellorship noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of chancellor¹

before 1100; Middle English chanceler < Anglo-French < Late Latin cancellārius doorkeeper, literally, man at the barrier ( chancel, -er ² ); replacing Middle English canceler, Old English ≪ Late Latin, as above

Word History and Origins

Origin of chancellor¹

C11: from Anglo-French chanceler, from Late Latin cancellārius porter, secretary, from Latin cancellī lattice; see _chancel

Example Sentences

The chancellor said she was working with G7 counterparts "on our own critical minerals strategy, so that we are less reliant".

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Earlier on Thursday, the Institute for Fiscal Studies calculated there was a £22bn gap for the chancellor to fill, which is at the lower end of expectations.

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Many analysts expect that tax rises or spending cuts will be needed to meet the chancellor's self-imposed borrowing rules.

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The chancellor should be "bold" in next month's Budget or risk future spending cuts and tax rises, an influential think tank has said.

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The chancellor has previously hinted at tax rises, and economists have said they expect taxes to go up in the Budget if the chancellor wants to meet her self-imposed rules on borrowing.

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Related Words

• administrator 
• agent 
• bureaucrat 
• civil servant 
• commissioner 
• director 
• executive 
• leader 
• manager 
• minister 
• officer 
• representative 
• secretary