chancery

noun

chan·​cery ˈchan(t)-sə-rē 

ˈchan(t)s-rē

plural chanceries

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 sense 3

Phrases

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

Examples of chancery in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

And only 43 of Mississippi’s 82 chancery court clerks submitted data during the same period, despite a law from 2023 that required the courts to report psychiatric commitment data to the state. —Gwen Dilworth, ProPublica, 23 Jan. 2025

More:Why the Nashville Covenant shooter's notebooks haven't been publicly released The case is currently pending in chancery court. —Craig Shoup, The Tennessean, 4 Jan. 2024

As a chancery clerk in northeastern Mississippi’s Lee County, Bill Benson has long dealt with people seeking to file commitment affidavits asserting that someone, often a family member, should be forced into treatment. —Kate Royals, ProPublica, 13 May 2024

The diocese is developing a three-story, 20,000-square-foot building at 902 N. 8th Street, which will serve as its chancery, or administrative offices. —Sarah Cutler, Idaho Statesman, 8 Feb. 2024

Word History

Etymology

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

First Known Use

14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 2a

Kids Definition

chancery

noun

chan·​cery ˈchan(t)s-(ə-)rē 

plural chanceries

: a record office for public archives

Legal Definition

chancery

noun

chan·​cery ˈchan-sə-rē 

1

capitalized : the court having equity jurisdiction in England and Wales and presided over by the Lord Chancellor of Great Britain

Note: Formerly a separate court, the Chancery is now a division of the Supreme Court of Judicature in England.

2

a

: court of equity

cases decided in chancery

b

: the principles and practice of judicial equity

court of chancery

see also equity compare law

Note: There are chancery courts in Arkansas, Delaware, Mississippi, New Jersey, and Tennessee.

Etymology

Middle English chauncery, alteration of chancellerie chancellor's office