chela
1 Americannoun
noun
noun
noun
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Etymology
Origin of chela1
1640–50; < New Latin < Greek chēlḗ claw
Origin of chela2
1825–35; < Hindi celā; compare Pali cellaka monk, Prakrit cilla boy, student
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
The drink's name represents maybe the world's best contraction, combining "chela," a slang term for beer; "ada" from "helada," meaning cold; and "mi" for mine — a.k.a "my cold beer."
From Salon ● Jul. 4, 2022
"The Blissful Mother travels widely in India; in many parts she has hundreds of disciples," the chela told me.
From Autobiography of a Yogi by Yogananda, Paramahansa
He wrote to the missionaries withdrawing his letter and offered himself to the Theosophical Society as a chela.
From Reveries over Childhood and Youth by Yeats, W. B. (William Butler)
What impresses me most in your narrative is the obstinate strength of will shown by yourself and your chela in your methodical abstentions and exercises.
From The Letters of William James, Vol. II by James, William
The chela awaiting reincarnation is by no means one of the common objects of the astral plane, but still he may be met with occasionally, and therefore he forms one of our classes.
From The Astral Plane Its Scenery, Inhabitants and Phenomena by Leadbeater, C. W. (Charles Webster)
"Previously, such chelae were known from only three insect groups. This fossil therefore represents the fourth known case of these structures evolving independently in insects," explains Privatdozent Carolin Haug, zoologist at LMU's Faculty of Biology.
From Science Daily ● May 25, 2026
These appendages, known as chelae, function much like forceps and are extremely uncommon among insects.
From Science Daily ● May 25, 2026
The scientists also carried out a large morphological comparison involving more than 2,000 chelae and similar grasping appendages from both living and extinct species.
From Science Daily ● May 25, 2026
"The name seemed fitting because the posture of the fossil's chelae strongly resembles the group's trademark pose. Stray Kids, I should add, is the favorite band of one of the paper's authors, Fenja Haug."
From Science Daily ● May 25, 2026
Its rotund form and subequal chelae suggest the land crab, Geocarcinus, but exact determination is of course impossible.
From Animal Figures in the Maya Codices by Tozzer, Alfred M. (Alfred Marston)
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
