chancel

See also: Chancel

English

Here the chancel (sense 1.1) is highlighted.

Here the chancel (sense 1.2) is highlighted.

Here the apse is highlighted.

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)

2. The space around the altar in a church or cathedral, 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.

   Holonyms: church, cathedral

   Near-synonyms: presbytery, sanctuary, apse (all broadly synonymous)

   2. (broadly) The entire end of the church in which the altar stands, including the apse and the ambulatory.

      Meronyms: presbytery, sanctuary, apse, ambulatory

   4. (precisely) A certain central portion of that end of the church, excluding the apse and the ambulatory.

      Synonyms: presbytery, sanctuary

      Comeronyms: apse, ambulatory

   • 1577, Raphaell Holinshed; Richarde Stanyhurst [i.e., Richard Stanihurst], “[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.

Derived terms

• chancel organ
• chancel repair liability

Related terms

• chancellor, chanceller
• chancellory, chancellery

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

  Latin: 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

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