Etymology

cancellus

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Today it means: A barrier, balustrade or railing, or screen, dividing the main body of a church from the chancel. Full definition →

Latin cancellus
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The story

  1. Latin · borrowed fromcancellus“little crab”
  2. English todaycancellus

Unadapted borrowing from Latin cancellus (“little crab”). Doublet of chancel.

Words from the same roots

Latincancellus all →

cancellous

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.