CHANCERY

chancery

(noun) an office of archives for public or ecclesiastic records; a court of public records

chancery, court of chancery

(noun) a court with jurisdiction in equity

Source: WordNet® 3.1

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Etymology

Noun

chancery (countable and uncountable, plural chanceries)

(historical) In England, formerly, the highest court of judicature next to the Parliament, exercising jurisdiction at law, but chiefly in equity; but under the jurisdiction act of 1873 it became the chancery division of the High Court of Justice, and now exercises jurisdiction only in equity.

In the United States, a court of equity; equity; proceeding in equity.

The type of building that houses a diplomatic mission or embassy.

The type of building that houses the offices and administration of a diocese; the offices of a diocese.

(historical) In the Middle Ages, a government office that produced and notarized official documents.

(slang) The position of a boxer's head when under his adversary's arm.

(slang, archaic) Any awkward predicament.

Usage notes

A court of chancery, so far as it is a court of equity, in the English and American sense, may be generally, if not precisely, described as one having jurisdiction in cases of rights, recognized and protected by the municipal or county jurisprudence, where a plain, adequate, and complete remedy can not be had in the courts of common law. In some of the American States, jurisdiction at law and in equity centers in the same tribunal. The courts of the United States also have jurisdiction both at law and in equity, and in all such cases they exercise their jurisdiction, as courts of law, or as courts of equity, as the subject of adjudication may require. In others of the American States, the courts that administer equity are distinct tribunals, having their appropriate judicial officers, and it is to the latter that the appellation courts of chancery is usually applied; but, in American law, the terms equity and court of equity are more frequently employed than the corresponding terms chancery and court of chancery.

Adverb

chancery (not comparable)

(boxing) With the head of an antagonist under one's arm, so that one can pommel it with the other fist at will.

(figurative) In an awkward situation; wholly under the power of someone else.

Synonyms

• in chancery

Source: Wiktionary

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Chan"cer*y, n. Etym: [F. chancellerie, LL. cancellaria, from L. cancellarius. See Chancellor, and cf. Chancellery.]

1. In England, formerly, the highest court of judicature next to the Parliament, exercising jurisdiction at law, but chiefly in equity; but under the jurisdiction act of 1873 it became the chancery division of the High Court of Justice, and now exercises jurisdiction only in equity.

2. In the Unites States, a court of equity; equity; proceeding in equity.

Note: A court of chancery, so far as it is a court of equity, in the English and American sense, may be generally, if not precisely, described as one having jurisdiction in cases of rights, recognized and protected by the municipal jurisprudence, where a plain, adequate, and complete remedy can not be had in the courts of common law. In some of the American States, jurisdiction at law and in equity centers in the same tribunal. The courts of the United States also have jurisdiction both at law and in equity, and in all such cases they exercise their jurisdiction, as courts of law, or as courts of equity, as the subject of adjudication may require. In others of the American States, the courts that administer equity are distinct tribunals, having their appropriate judicial officers, and it is to the latter that the appellation courts of chancery is usually applied; but, in American law, the terms equity and court of equity are more frequently employed than the corresponding terms chancery and court of chancery. Burrill. Inns of chancery. See under Inn.

– To get (or to hold) In chancery (Boxing), to get the head of an antagonist under one's arm, so that one can pommel it with the other fist at will; hence, to have wholly in One's power. The allusion is to the condition of a person involved in the chancery court, where he was helpless, while the lawyers lived upon his estate.

Source: Webster’s Unabridged Dictionary 1913 Edition

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