# chancellor

Pronunciation: US say "CHAN-suh-ler" /ˈt͡ʃænsələ/; UK say "CHAHN-suh-luh" /ˈtʃɑːnsələ/; AUS say "CHAN-suh-luh"

## Noun

1. The head of the government in certain German-speaking countries, such as Germany and Austria.
   - Simple: The leader of the government in some countries where people speak German.
   - _The German chancellor flew to Paris for talks with the French president._
   - _After weeks of coalition talks, the Bundestag finally elected a new chancellor._
2. The highest-ranking officer of a university, a post that is in some cases purely ceremonial.
   - Simple: The top leader of a university. At some schools the job is only an honor, with few real duties.
   - _The chancellor handed out diplomas at the spring commencement._
   - _The university's trustees began a national search for a new chancellor._
3. Short for Chancellor of the Exchequer. *(UK)* — Ellipsis of Chancellor of the Exchequer.
   - Simple: Short for Chancellor of the Exchequer. This is the British minister in charge of the country's money.
   - _The chancellor will set out his tax plans in the autumn budget._
   - _Downing Street insisted that the prime minister still had full confidence in the chancellor._
4. A high-ranking secretary or official with administrative or legal duties, in some cases heading an area of government such as finance or justice.
   - Simple: A senior official who does office or legal work, sometimes running a part of government like money or the law.
   - _The king's chancellor drafted the treaty and fixed the royal seal to it._
   - _The Lord Chancellor met with senior judges to discuss delays in the courts._
5. The chief judge of a court of chancery, that is, a court that hears and decides cases in equity. *(US)*
   - Simple: The top judge of a chancery court, a special kind of court in some US states.
   - _The chancellor granted an injunction that stopped the developer from draining the wetland._
   - _Lawyers for both families argued the estate dispute before the chancellor for three days._
6. A senior keeper of a cathedral's records, or a bishop's or diocese's senior legal officer, who hears cases under church law.
   - Simple: A church official who keeps the records of a cathedral, or who judges church law cases for a bishop.
   - _The diocesan chancellor ruled that the parish could not remove the old pews without permission._
   - _Historians asked the cathedral chancellor for access to the medieval charters in the archive._
7. The member of a jury chosen to lead it and to announce its verdict, known elsewhere as the foreman.
   - Simple: The person who leads a jury and tells the court what the jury decided.
   - _The jury withdrew to choose a chancellor before beginning its deliberations._
   - _When the court reconvened, the chancellor of the jury rose and announced a verdict of not proven._

## Origin

From Anglo-Norman or Middle English chaunceler (also chanceler, canceler), from Old French cancelier, chancelier, from Late Latin cancellārius, a secretary or an usher who stood at the bars separating the public from the judges in a court of law. That word comes from Latin cancellī (“bars, railings”), the plural of cancellus, a diminutive of cancer (“grid, barrier”), ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *(s)ker- (“to bend, turn”). A Late Old English form, canceler, existed but was displaced in the 13th century by the Old French and Anglo-Norman forms.

Source: DictionaryAI, https://dictionaryai.com/define/chancellor (written from Wiktionary data, CC BY-SA 4.0: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/).