chancery

American  

[chan-suh-ree] / ˈtʃæn sə ri /

noun

chanceries plural

1. the office or department of a chancellor; chancellery.

2. an office of public records, especially those of the Lord Chancellor in England.

3. (in England) the Lord Chancellor's court, now a division of the High Court of Justice.

4. Law.

   1. Also called court of chancery.  a court having jurisdiction in equity; court of equity.

   2. equity.

5. the administrative office of a diocese.

6. Roman Catholic Church. a department of the Curia Romana now having the responsibility for issuing bulls to establish new dioceses, benefices, etc.

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idioms

1. 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.

chancery British  

/ ˈtʃɑːnsərɪ /

noun

1. Also called: Chancery Division.  (in England) the Lord Chancellor's court, now a division of the High Court of Justice

2. Also called: court of chancery.  (in the US) a court of equity

3. the political section or offices of an embassy or legation

4. another name for chancellery

5. a court of public records; archives

6. Christianity a diocesan office under the supervision of a bishop's chancellor, having custody of archives, issuing official enactments, etc

7. 1. law (of a suit) pending in a court of equity

   2. wrestling boxing (of a competitor's head) locked under an opponent's arm

   3. in an awkward or helpless situation

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Other Word Forms

Inflected Forms

noun

• chanceries
  plural

Etymology

Origin of chancery

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

Example Sentences

CHANCERY, in English law, the court of the lord chancellor of England, consolidated in 1873 along with the other superior courts in the Supreme Court of Judicature.

From Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 5, Slice 7 "Cerargyrite" to "Charing Cross" by Various

For explanation of CHANCERY, see page 50, and for PROBATE, see page 48.

From Civil Government of Virginia by Fox, William Fayette