chancery

chan·cery

noun \ˈchan(t)-sə-rē, ˈchan(t)s-rē\

plural chan·cer·ies

Definition of CHANCERY

1

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

2

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

3

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

1

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

2

: in a hopeless predicament

Origin of CHANCERY

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

First Known Use: 14th century

chancery

noun    (Concise Encyclopedia)

Court of public record and archive of state documents. The chancery system of the Roman Empire served as the model for the royal chanceries of medieval France and Germany. Medieval royal chanceries were headed by archchancellors and chancellors, who oversaw the work of scribes and notaries and sometimes served as advisers to the monarch.