Dictionary

chancery

noun chan·cery \ˈchan(t)-sə-rē, ˈchan(t)s-rē\

: a government office where public documents are kept

: a type of court in the U.S.

Chancery : a part of the High Court in England and Wales

plural chan·cer·ies

Full Definition of CHANCERY

: a record office for public archives or those of ecclesiastical, legal, or diplomatic proceedings

a capitalized : a high court of equity in England and Wales with common-law functions and jurisdiction over causes in equity

b : a court of equity in the American judicial system

c : the principles and practice of judicial equity

a : a chancellor's court or office or the building in which it is located

b : the office in which the business of a Roman Catholic diocese is transacted and recorded

c : the office of an embassy : chancellery 3

— in chancery

: in litigation in a court of chancery; also : under the superintendence of the lord chancellor <a ward in chancery>

: in a hopeless predicament

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Middle English chancerie, alteration of chancelerie chancellery, from Anglo-French, from chanceler

First Known Use: 14th century

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