chancellor

noun chan·cel·lor \ ˈchan(t)-s(ə-)lər \

Updated on: 11 Apr 2018

Definition of chancellor

1 a : the secretary of a nobleman, prince, or king

b : the lord chancellor of Great Britain

c British : the chief secretary of an embassy

d : a Roman Catholic priest heading the office in which diocesan business is transacted and recorded

2 a : the titular head of a British university

b (1) : a university president

(2) : the chief executive officer in some state systems of higher education

3 a : a lay legal officer or adviser of an Anglican diocese

b : a judge in a court of chancery or equity in various states of the U.S.

4 : the chief minister of state in some European countries

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chancellorship

play \-ˌship\ noun

See chancellor defined for English-language learners

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Examples of chancellor in a Sentence

the new chancellor of the university

Recent Examples of chancellor from the Web

But the University of Wisconsin at Madison started slowly increasing its merit aid in 2016 to compete more strongly with other Big Ten schools, even though the chancellor did not agree with the practice.

— dawn rhodes, chicagotribune.com, "Growing brain drain: University of Alabama's gain in drawing Illinois students is a loss for Illinois schools," 6 Apr. 2018
Two years ago, she was promoted to provost and executive vice chancellor at the business school.

— shannon hall, The Courier-Journal, "The University of Louisville has a new president. Here's what you should know about her," 3 Apr. 2018
She is set to begin her new job in May. Before becoming provost and executive vice chancellor at KU, Bendapudi, 54, had served as business dean on the Lawrence campus.

— mará rose williams, kansascity, "KU provost is next president at University of Louisville | The Kansas City Star," 3 Apr. 2018
Royal treatment: While in Sweden doing research on her upcoming book, Mary Walshok, the enterprising UC San Diego associate vice chancellor, managed to continue her streak of receiving royal treatment.

— diane bell, sandiegouniontribune.com, "At Padres home opener, the organ player is on his game," 30 Mar. 2018
Authorities said the proposal — which must be approved by a campus governance committee and by the University of Wisconsin system’s chancellor and Board of Regents — is intended to help stem a drop in enrollment and a multimillion-dollar deficit.

— valerie strauss, Washington Post, "After backlash over plan to cut 13 humanities majors, U-Wisconsin campus drawing up second proposal," 28 Mar. 2018
Angela Merkel, Germany’s chancellor, reportedly asked her fellow leaders to state which of them would agree to do so.

— The Economist, "Britain pulls off a diplomatic coup against Russia at the EU," 23 Mar. 2018
On Thursday afternoon, Carvalho turned down a job as New York’s next school chancellor on live television.

— monique o. madan, miamiherald, "New York tabloids have a field day poking fun at Carvahlo’s decision to stay in Miami | Miami Herald," 2 Mar. 2018
The German chancellor, so often the linchpin of the EU, then made two interventions, arguing firmly that the bloc must not shy away from laying the blame where the evidence pointed: At the Kremlin door.

— Bloomberg.com, "May Served Secrets Over Dinner to Win EU Allies for Russia Fight," 23 Mar. 2018

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'chancellor.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Origin and Etymology of chancellor

Middle English chanceler, from Anglo-French, from Late Latin cancellarius doorkeeper, secretary, from cancellus

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First Known Use: 14th century

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CHANCELLOR Defined for English Language Learners

chancellor

noun

Definition of chancellor for English Language Learners

: the highest government official in Germany and Austria
: the head of some U.S. universities
: the head of a British university who represents the school but who does not have many responsibilities