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chancery

[ chan-suh-ree ]

noun

, plural chan·cer·ies.
  1. the office or department of a chancellor; chancellery.
  2. an office of public records, especially those of the Lord Chancellor in England.
  3. (in England) the Lord Chancellor's court, now a division of the High Court of Justice.
  4. Law.
    1. Also called court of chancery. a court having jurisdiction in equity; court of equity.
  5. the administrative office of a diocese.
  6. Roman Catholic Church. a department of the Curia Romana now having the responsibility for issuing bulls to establish new dioceses, benefices, etc.


chancery

/ ˈtʃɑːnsərɪ /

noun

  1. Also calledChancery Division (in England) the Lord Chancellor's court, now a division of the High Court of Justice
  2. Also calledcourt of chancery (in the US) a court of equity
  3. the political section or offices of an embassy or legation
  4. another name for chancellery
  5. a court of public records; archives
  6. Christianity a diocesan office under the supervision of a bishop's chancellor, having custody of archives, issuing official enactments, etc
  7. in chancery
    in chancery
    1. law (of a suit) pending in a court of equity
    2. wrestling boxing (of a competitor's head) locked under an opponent's arm
    3. in an awkward or helpless situation


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Word History and Origins

Origin of chancery1

1325–75; Middle English chancerie, variant of chancelrie, syncopated variant of chancellerie chancellery

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Word History and Origins

Origin of chancery1

C14: shortened from chancellery

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Idioms and Phrases

Idioms
  1. in chancery,
    1. Law. in litigation in a court of chancery.
    2. Wrestling, Boxing. (of a contestant's head) held under an opponent's arm.
    3. in a helpless or embarrassing position.

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Example Sentences

Some legal experts have expressed doubt about whether Musk’s arguments will hold up, noting that the Delaware Court of Chancery has historically taken a narrow view of when buyers can renege on agreements like the one he signed.

We look forward to the trial in the Delaware Court of Chancery.

Shareholder attorney Lee Rudy urged Vice Chancellor Joseph Slights of Delaware's Court of Chancery to order Musk return the Tesla stock he received, which would be worth around $13 billion at its current price.

In December 2001, Dutschke married the woman, according to Lee County Chancery Court records obtained by The Daily Beast.

Breeden persuaded a Delaware Chancery Court judge that he would do better.

Her separation from her husband is the consequence, but her fortune is thrown into chancery.

It was leased to the Cambrian, but got into Chancery and was closed a few years later.

We must fetch a suit in the Court of Chancery, and that I'll do at once upon looking up the facts.

A suit in Chancery was proceeding, to enable him to sell, to his father, the reversion of a portion of his estates.

A society has been formed in London for the reform of abuses in the Court of Chancery.

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Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.

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