chela

[ kee-luh ]

/ ˈki lə /

noun, plural che·lae [kee-lee] /ˈki li/.

the pincerlike organ or claw terminating certain limbs of crustaceans and arachnids.

Nearby words

chekhov, chekhov, anton, chekhov, anton pavlovich, chekhovian, chekiang, chela, chelan, chelan, lake, chelate, chelating agent, chelating agents

Origin of chela

1640–50; < New Latin < Greek chēlḗ claw

Definition for chela (2 of 2)

chela

[ chey-lah ]

/ ˈtʃeɪ lɑ /

noun

(in India) a disciple of a religious teacher.

Origin of chela

1825–35; < Hindi celā; compare Pali cellaka monk, Prakrit cilla boy, student

Related formsche·la·ship, noun

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for chela

Two wooden stools are set within it and the guru and his chela take their seats on these.
The Tribes and Castes of the Central Provinces of India - Volume IV of IV|R.V. Russell
Receive him in your midst as the chela of a new avatar which will be unfolded to him under your tender guidance.
Fashionable Philosophy|Laurence Oliphant
The master suddenly seized a burning log and lightly struck the bare shoulder of a chela who was close to the fire.
Autobiography of a YOGI|Paramhansa Yogananda
"The Blissful Mother travels widely in India; in many parts she has hundreds of disciples," the chela told me.
Autobiography of a YOGI|Paramhansa Yogananda

I have now no chela, but I will take the alms-bowl and thus enable the charitable to acquire merit.'
Kim|Rudyard Kipling

British Dictionary definitions for chela (1 of 2)

chela

/ (ˈkiːlə) /

noun plural lae (-liː)

a large pincer-like claw of such arthropods as the crab and scorpion

Derived Formscheliferous (kɪˈlɪfərəs), adjective

Word Origin for chela

C17: New Latin, from Greek khēlē claw

British Dictionary definitions for chela (2 of 2)

chela

/ (ˈtʃeɪlə) /

noun

Hinduism a disciple of a religious teacher

Derived Formschelaship, noun

Word Origin for chela

C19: from Hindi celā, from Sanskrit ceta servant, slave

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012