chancel

See also: Chancel

English

Alternative forms

• chauncel (archaic)

Etymology

From Old French chancel. Doublet of cancellus.

Pronunciation

• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /ˈtʃɑːnsəl/

• Audio (Southern England):

  (file)

• (US) IPA^(key): /ˈt͡ʃænsəl/
• Rhymes: -ɑːnsəl, -ænsəl

Noun

chancel (plural chancels)

1. The space around the altar in a church, often enclosed, for use by the clergy and the choir. In medieval cathedrals the chancel was usually enclosed or blocked off from the nave by an altar screen.
   • 1577, Raphaell Holinshed, “[The Historie of Irelande […].] The Thirde Booke of the Historie of Ireland, Comprising the Raigne of Henry the Eyght: [...].”, in The Firste Volume of the Chronicles of England, Scotlande, and Irelande […], volume I, London: […] [Henry Bynneman] for Iohn Hunne, →OCLC, pages 77–78, column 2:

     The Citizens in their rage, imagining that euery poſt in the Churche had bin one of y^e Souldyers, ſhot habbe or nabbe at randon^{[sic – meaning random]} uppe to the Roode lofte, and to the Chancell, leauing ſome of theyr arrowes ſticking in the Images.

   • 1907 January, Harold Bindloss, chapter 20, in The Dust of Conflict, 1st Canadian edition, Toronto, Ont.: McLeod & Allen, →OCLC:

     Hester Earle and Violet Wayne were moving about the aisle with bundles of wheat-ears and streamers of ivy, for the harvest thanksgiving was shortly to be celebrated, while the vicar stood waiting for their directions on the chancel steps with a great handful of crimson gladioli.

Synonyms

• apse
• presbytery
• sanctuary

Derived terms

• chancel organ
• chancel repair liability

 

Translations

space around the altar in a church

• Armenian: սրբարան (hy) (srbaran), երիցունք (ericʻunkʻ)
• Basque: koru, presbiterio
• Breton: kañsell f
• Bulgarian: презвитериум n (prezviterium)
• Catalan: presbiteri (ca) m
• Czech: kněžiště n, presbytář m
• Danish: kor (da) n
• Dutch: priesterkoor n, hoogkoor (nl) n
• Esperanto: antaŭaltaro
• Estonian: kantsel, kooriruum
• Finnish: kuori (fi)
• French: chancel (fr) m, clôture de chœur f
• German: Altarraum (de) m
• Greek: ιερό (el) n (ieró)
• Hungarian: presbitérium (hu)
• Irish: saingeal m, córlann f, preispitéir m
• Italian: presbiterio (it) m
• Latvian: prezbitērija f
• Lithuanian: prezbiterija f
• Macedonian: олтар m (oltar)
• Manx: carrick f
• Norwegian: kor (no) n
• Polish: prezbiterium (pl) n
• Portuguese: presbitério (pt) m
• Romanian: prezbiteriu (ro) n
• Russian: пресвите́рий m (presvitérij), хор (ru) m (xor)
• Scottish Gaelic: seansal m
• Serbo-Croatian:

  Cyrillic: презвитериум n, светиња f, хор m

  Roman: prezbiterium n, svetinja (sh) f, hor (sh) m

• Slovak: presbytár m, kňazište n, chór m
• Slovene: prezbiterij (sl) m, kor m
• Spanish: presbiterio (es) m
• Swedish: kor (sv) n
• Ukrainian: вівтар (uk) m (vivtar), хор m (xor), пресбітерій n (presbiterij)
• Welsh: cangell f

See also

• chancellery

French

Alternative forms

• cancel, chanceau

Etymology

Inherited from Old French chancel, from Latin cancellus.

Noun

chancel m (plural chancels)

1. chancel

Further reading

• “chancel”, in Trésor de la langue française informatisé [Digitized Treasury of the French Language], 2012.

Old French

Alternative forms

• cancel

Etymology

From Latin cancellus.

Noun

chancel oblique singular, m (oblique plural chanceaus or chanceax or chanciaus or chanciax or chancels, nominative singular chanceaus or chanceax or chanciaus or chanciax or chancels, nominative plural chancel)

1. chancel

Descendants

• French: chancel, cancel, chanceau
• → Breton: kañsell
• → English: chancel, chauncel
• → Scottish Gaelic: seansal
• → Spanish: cancel