woolsack
Americannoun
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a sack or bag of wool.
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British.
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(in the House of Lords) one of a number of cloth-covered seats or divans stuffed with wool, for the use of judges, especially one for the Lord Chancellor.
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the Lord Chancellor's office.
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noun
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a sack containing or intended to contain wool
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(in Britain) the seat of the Lord Chancellor in the House of Lords, formerly made of a large square sack of wool
Etymology
Origin of woolsack
Middle English word dating back to 1250–1300; see origin at wool, sack 1
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.
A Royal Commission, made up of five peers appointed by the King, take their places on the woolsack dressed in red ermine robes and black and two-pointed, bicorner hats.
From BBC • May 25, 2024
At the end of her final day on the woolsack on Wednesday there was a break with usual Lords etiquette as she was cheered and clapped as business for the day ended.
From BBC • Jul. 22, 2011
At Wembley, he should sit on a woolsack.
From The Guardian • Mar. 24, 2010
Last weekend, with the peers away for their Whitsuntide recess, the Lord Great Chamberlain, who has charge of the Houses of Parliament, ordered the woolsack ripped open, stuffed with real wool.
From Time Magazine Archive
He told me that he was the youngest Lord Chancellor, with one exception, that had ever sat on the woolsack.
From Under Four Administrations From Cleveland to Taft by Straus, Oscar S.
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.
