chancel 
c.huucel, TJ. cancelli, pi., a grating, latticework: 
see cancel.] 1. Kccles., the inclosed spare in 
a church surrounding the altar, and railed off 
from the choir; tho sanctuary, in small churches 
having no .separate choir tin- altar-rails (anil 111 some 
churches tho screen or latticework) divide the chancel 
immediately from tho '""'J' "' the church. In a wider 
' DM the words cliuiic'-t iind t-ltoir are sometimes ust-d to 
iiirliidt- both the sanctuary and the choir proper. In 
1,1 -ek churches tin- '/ answers t<> the chancel or sane 
tuary, and tin- iVo/m,vMx/.s- (as the choir docs not intervene 
t.i lueeii >ai let nary arni nave) corresponds in some measure 
to huth altar-rails and rood-ncreen, to the former as se|.a 
rating the altar 1'i'nin the iv*t of the chureh, and to the 
latter us constituting a marked Iniiiiulary to the nave. 
2. An inclosed space railed off in courts of 
judicature. 
chancelert, >> An obsolete form of chuiicfllor. 
chanceless (chans'les), u. [< chance + -/<.. | 
Without chance or opportunity ; hopeless ; un- 
availing: as, a chaiiiTli'Kn struggle. [Rare.] 
chancellery (I'lian'sel-e-ri), . ; pi. chaim-Ili-rns 
(-ri/.). 1. Sumo as cliiinrcry, 3. 2. A secre- 
tary's office. See cliancellor, 2. 
In tlir clttfiK-flfifffi ui- secretary '.s olliee tllere is a large 
lilirtiry. PMMM, Inscription of the Kast, II. ii. 220. 
chancellor (chau'sel-or), . [< ME. chanceler, 
cliaiiiicelfi; rltaiinst'ler (always with one 0, ( 
OF. chanccler, -Her, F. chaiicelivr = Pr. canceller, 
cliiincellier = Cat. ca feller = OSp. canceller, can- 
ci/li-r, Sp. i-aiifclari<> = I'g. flt<tiicell<-r,caHCill<in<i 
= It. cancel! icre = D. J;antielii:r = MLG. kenselere 
= OHG. ehaiiciliiri, fhcnzilari, JKKi. kun:eltere, 
G. kanzler = Dan. Sw. kansler = Icel. knnz<-H<iri, 
kaiisellcri = Kuss. kantslerii, < ML. cancellarius, 
a chancellor, orig. (LL.) an officer in charge of 
records, who stood at the latticed railing inclos- 
ing the judgment-seat, and acted as an interme- 
diary between the suitors and the judge ; < L. 
cancelli, a latticed railing: see chancel and can- 
cel, and cf. chancery."] 1. Originally, under the 
later Roman emperors, a doorkeeper or usher, 
who stood at the latticed railing inclosing the 
judgment-seat, to keep off the crowd and to in- 
troduce such persons as were entitled to pass 
inside. Later and naturally he Iwcame a sort of inter- 
mediary between petitioners Rlld the judges, and ar- 
ranged about their business. In the Eastern Empire, the 
K.MIUIU ' .riiiKih empire, and the kingdoms established on 
tile ruins of the Roman empire, this intermediary door- 
keeper beeanie a notary or scribe on whom devolved the 
duty of preparing and sealing all important documents, 
such as charters, letters, and other official writings of the 
crown ; hence he became keeper of the great seal, and in 
consequence of the influence of his position his office came 
to be one of the most important. From the Roman empire 
the ecclesiastical court at Rome introduced the office, and 
the chancery at the Vatican was repeated throughout the 
several bishoprics, where each diocese, and frequently each 
of the great monastic houses, had its chancellor. 
Hence 2. A secretary; a notary. 
One (filbert Peck, his [the Duke of Buckingham's] chan- 
crttor. Shak., Hen. VIII., i. 1. 
3. In Great Britain: (u) The highest judicial 
officer of the crown, law adviser of the ministry, 
and keeper of the great seal : more fully desig- 
nated lord high chancellor. He is a cabinet minister 
and privy councilor by virtue of his office, and prolocutor 
of the House of Lords by prescription, and ranks next af- 
ter the princes of the blood and the Archbishop of Canter- 
bury. The writs for the convocation of Parliament are 
issued by him. To him belongs the appointment of all 
justices of the peace, and he is the patron of all livings of 
the crown under the value of twenty marks in the king's 
books ; he is keeper of the sovereign's conscience, visitor 
of all hospitals and colleges founded by the king, guardian 
of all charitable uses, and judge of the High Court of 
Chancery, now called the Chancery Division of the Supreme 
Court. There is also a ford high chancellor in Ireland at 
the head of the equity system of that country, and Scotland 
had a chancellor until the treaty of union with England 
in 1707. (ft) An officer, officially styled chancellor 
of the duchy of Lancaster, who presides in per- 
son or by deputy over the courts of law and 
equity in the duchy of Lancaster. He is usu- 
ally a cabinet minister, and seldom a lawyer, 
(c) The finance minister of the British govern- 
ment, more fully styled chancellor of the ex- 
chequer. He is invariably a member of the House of 
Commons (that division of the legislature having the sole 
right of laying taxes and originating money bills) and also 
of the cabinet. The chancellor of the exchequer was for- 
merly a judge exnjndo in the equity department of the Court 
of Exchequer, taking precedence of all the barons ; but 
when the equitable jurisdiction of this court was trans- 
ferred by 5 Viet. v. to the Court of Chancery his judicial 
functions became obsolete, (d) In the jury system 
of Scotland, the preses or foreman of a jury, 
who announces the verdict when it is a verbal 
one, and who, when it is in writing, hands 
it in and indorses it, in the name of the 
jury, along with the clerk of the court. 4. In 
France: (a) The chief officer of the crown, 
charged with the custody of the great seal, 
the administration of justice, and the duty of 
presiding over the councils of tho king. The 
office was abolished in 1790, revived in name 
by Napoleon I., and finally abolished in 1848. 
(l>) The chief officer of the palace of a queen or 
prince, (c) A secretary, especially of an em- 
biissy or a consulate. 5. In the new Ccrman 
empire, the president of the Federal Council, 
who is also charged with tho supreme direct inn, 
under the emperor, of all imperial affairs. 
6. The chief officer, next to the honorary head. 
of a military or honorable order, who guards 
ils seal, administers its property, anil pre- 
serves its records: as, the rhinirrllor of the Or- 
der of tho Garter. 7. Kecks.: (a) An officer 
learned in canou law, who acts as vicar-gen- 
eral to a bishop, holds his courts, and directs 
and advises him in all matters of ecclesiastical 
law, and is the keeper of his seals. More 
fully styled rhtitirt'lltir "f/i liixhoji or of n ilini-i-xi: 
(6) An officer belonging to a cathedral, who 
arranges the celebration of religious services, 
hears lessons, lectures in theology, writes let- 
ters of the chapter, applies the seal, keeps tho 
books, etc. 8. The titular head of a univer- 
sity, from whom all degrees are supposed to 
emanate. The chancellor was originally the notary of 
the chapter of the cathedral. But nobody could preach 
without the authorization of the bishop ; and the pope as 
the chief of the bishops undertook to regulate this author- 
ization. He made the chancellors of certain cathedrals 
his deputies for this purpose, and thus they alone could 
grant the degree of master of theology, the highest of 
the university, which carried with it the right to preach. 
The chancellors seldom took an active part in the govern- 
ment of the university. In Great Britain the office is now 
a merely honorary one, and is usually held by a nobleman 
or some statesman of eminence. The duties of the chan- 
cellor of Oxford or Cambridge are usually discharged by a 
vice-chancellor. There is an officer with similar functions 
in several of the colleges of the t'nited States. 
9. In Delaware, New Jersey, and some others of 
the United States, a judge of the Court of Chan- 
cery or Equity. In Alabama, Mississippi, and 
Tennessee there are district chancellors chosen 
by popular vote. 10. In Scrip., a master of 
the decrees, or president of the council. Ezra 
iv. 8. 
chancellorship (chan'sel-or-ship), . [< chan- 
cellor + -shi)>.] The office'or dignity of a chan- 
cellor; the period during which a chancellor 
holds office. 
chancel-rail (chan'sel-ral), H. The rail which 
separates the chancel or sanctuary of a church 
from the choir, or, where there is no choir, 
from the nave. 
chancel-screen (chan'sel-skreu), . The screen 
or railing separating the chancel from the 
body of the church. It is often richly carved 
and adorned. 
chancel-table (chan'sel-ta'bl), n. A commu- 
nion-table within the chancel. 
chancelyt (chans'li), adv. [< ME. "chauncely, 
chaunsetich ; < chance + -ly%.~] By chance; 
accidentally. 
And [3if ft] be so that eny debat chavnuelich falle among 
eny of hem, that god defende, they l>eynge in debat shul 
shawe and come the cause of her debat to the wardeins of 
the forsaide brotherhede. Englith Qildn (E. E. I . S), p. 4. 
chance-medley (chans'med"li), . and u. I. 
n. 1. In law: (a) Originally, a casual affray or 
riot, accompanied with violence, and without 
deliberate or preconceived malice, (u) The 
killing of another in self-defense, upon a sud- 
den and unpremeditated encounter. 
The prisoner pleaded inadvertency; and the jury were 
going to bring it in chancemedtey, had not several wit- 
nesses been produced against the said Elizabeth Make- 
bate, that she was an old offender. 
Addigon, Cases of False Delicacy. 
Hence 2f. Misadventure. 
May he cut a collier's throat with his razor, by chance- 
medley, and yet be hanged for't. 
B. JoHjitui, Epiccene, iii. 2. 
3. A haphazard mixture; a fortuitous com- 
bination. 
Wherefore they are no twain, but one flesh ; this is true 
in the general right of marriage, but not in the chance- 
medley of every particular match. 
Milton, Tetrachordon (Ord MS.). 
Who there will court thy friendship, with what views, 
And, artless as thou art, whom thou wilt choose, . . . 
Is all chance-meilley, and unknown to me. 
COVTJKT, Tirocinium. 
U. a. Haphazard. 
The Moors' line was broken by the shock, squadron after 
squadron was thrown into confusion, Moors and Christians 
were intermingled, until the field became one scene of des- 
perate chance-medley fighting. 
Irciny, Moorish Chronicles, p. 73. 
chancert (chan'ser), v. t. [Formed from chan- 
I'l'i'i/.] To adjust according to principles of 
equity, as would be done by a court of chan- 
cery : as, to chuncer a forfeiture. Mass. Prov. 
Laws. 
chandelier 
chancery (chan'so-ri), . [Contr. from earlier 
rilri/, cluini-rli r;i, (.yiYi-chanrclrrir, chuiti/- 
1'illirir, < OF. cliiuii-i Hi ru . V. i-liinu-rlli m = Pr. 
i-iini-i //</;/ = < 'at. i-niii-rlli n/i Sp. 1'iiiici Hi mi 
(riinri-1/iriit, the pupal chancery) = I'j. <-/ntii- 
rillaria = It. ranri-lt<-rin = 1). luiiitn-lnrij = G. 
k<tn;lri, l;nii.:<lri = Dan. knni'i-lli = S\v. l.-nuxli = 
l.'n-s. kiintxilliiniiii, l.-iin/.ti liiiirii/n, < ML. run- 
<< llnria, a chancery court, orig. t he record-office 
of a chancellor : see (///////.] 1. Originally, 
tho office of a chancellor, notary, or secretary, 
where the records were kept and official docu- 
ments were prepared, sealed, and despatched. 
As soon as the day and plarc of Cession were hxe<l, the 
writs of summons were prepared iii the royal i-tuini-i'rfi ami 
Usued under the great seal. .S7i/W,, < 0111.1. Hist., j 739. 
That clans of clerks of the Kinu s chapel or flin,n;'ni 
who had so large ashare in the a<Jiiiiiiistralin of the king- 
dom. K. A. l''nfiniin, Hist. Norm. Conn,, \ . -,' 
2. In England, formerly, tho highest court of 
justice next to Parliament, presided over by 
the lord chancellor, but since 1873 a division of 
the High Court of Justice, it once consisted <.( t u . , 
distinct tribunals one ordinary, or legal; the other ex- 
traordinary, or a court of equity. 
3. In Scotland, an office in the general register- 
house at Edinburgh, in which are recorded 
charters, patents of dignities, gifts of office, 
remissions, legitimations, and all other writs 
appointed to pass the great or the quarter seal. 
Also chancellery. 4. In the United States, a 
court of equity. See equity. 5. In jiuijilism, 
the position of a boxer's head when it is un- 
der his adversary's arm, so that it may be held 
and pommeled severely, the victim meanwhile 
being unable to retaliate effectively : in the 
phrase in chancery. So called because of lt> supposed 
resemblance to the position of a suitor among the chancery 
lawyers. [Slang. | In chancery, (a) In litigation, as an 
estate, in a court of equity. (6) In an awkward predica- 
ment. (Slang.) (e) See 5. above. Inna of chancery. 
See inn. Master in chancery, see matter. Ward 
in chancery. See ward. 
ch.anc.on (F. pron. shon-sfiii'), n. See chan- 
xon. 
chancre (shang'ker), M. [F. : see canker."] A 
sore or ulcer arising from the direct application 
of syphilitic poison. Chancres are of two kinds: (1) 
the true chancre, consisting of an ulcer with a hard In- 
durated base, occurring at the point of infection ; the ini- 
tial lesion of syphilis ; (2) the soft chancre. See chancroid. 
chancrelle (shang'krel), . Same as chancroid. 
chancroid (shang'kroid), a. and n. [< chancre 
+ -o/.] I. a. Resembling a chancre. 
II. H. A virulent ulcer, almost always situ- 
ated on the genitals, and communicated in sex- 
ual intercourse by contact of its pus, usually 
with a breach of surface, it does not Infect the 
system, though it often gives rise to suppurating inguinal 
lymphadenitis. It is the chancre of German authors. Also 
called local. *o/t t non-illdurating, nan-inj'ectiinj, or ximplf 
rhttHcre, venereal xorf, and chancrelle. 
chancroidal (shang-kroi'dal), a. [< chancroid 
+ -al."] Pertaining to or of the nature of a 
chancroid. 
chancrous (shang'krus), a. [< chancre + -oi.] 
Having the qualities of a chancre ; ulcerous. 
[< chance + -y 1 .] 1. Un- 
[Kare or colloq.] 
By a roundabout course even a gentleman may make 
of himself a chancy personage, raising an uncertainty as 
to what he may do next. 
George Eliot, Daniel Deronda, xxviii. 
2. Fortunate; lucky; propitious; foreboding 
good: applied to either persons or things, and 
generally used with a negative in the sense of 
uncanny : thus, persons suspected of possessing 
magical arts are regarded as not (or wo) chancy. 
[Scotch.] 3. Favorable; safe: as, a chancy 
wind: generally used with a negative: as, not 
chancy (that is, dangerous). [Scotch.] 
chandala, chandaul (chan-da'la, -dal'), H. 
[Hind., etc., chandal, chanddl.] In India, a per- 
son of mixed caste, whose touch, breath , or pres- 
ence is a pollution ; theoretically, one sprung 
from a Sudra father and a Brahman mother; 
an outcast. Wilson. The chandalas are the scaven- 
gers and executioners of India, and, like lepers, live in 
separate villages. 
chandelier (shan-de-ler'), . [< F. chandelier 
= Pr. caudelicr, candelar = Sp. candelero = Pg. 
candeeiro, candieiro = It. candelliere = D. kan- 
delaar, < ML. candelarins, m., candelaria, t., a 
candlestick, < L. candela, a candle : see candle. 
Cf. chandler, which is the older E. form.] 1. 
A branched cluster of lights suspended from 
a ceiling by means of a tubular rod (as is usual 
when gas is used), or by a chain or other de- 
vice. Originally the word signified a candlestick, then 
a cluster of candlesticks: finally the distinction became 
established between a candelabrum, which is a standard, 
and a chandelier, which is a pendant. Compare Iwtter. 
chancy (chan'si), a. 
certain; changeful. 
