cancellus

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noun

A barrier, balustrade or railing, or screen, dividing the main body of a church from the chancel.

OriginLatin cancellus →
Scrabble 13
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Meanings

nouncancellus (plural cancelli)

plural cancelli

  1. architectureA barrier, balustrade or railing, or screen, dividing the main body of a church from the chancel.
  2. anatomyOne of the interlacing osseous plates constituting the elastic porous tissue of certain parts of the bones, especially in their articular extremities.

Origin

  1. Latincancellus“little crab”
  2. Englishcancellus

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

More words from Latin

Full word history & related roots →
Cite this entry
APA

cancellus. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/cancellus

MLA

“cancellus.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/cancellus. Accessed November 3, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “cancellus,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/cancellus.

Source: cancellus on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.