chancel
/ˈt͡ʃænsəl/noun
chancel is spelled C-H-A-N-C-E-L: 7 letters. It appears about once in every 2 million words in written English, the 40,267th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a noun, chancel means “The space around the altar in a church or cathedral, often enclosed, for use by the clergy and the choir. In medieval cathedrals the chancel was…” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of chancel is chancels.
How many letters and syllables are in chancel?
| Letters | 7: C-H-A-N-C-E-L |
|---|---|
| In writing | about once in every 2 million words; the 40,267th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How common is chancel?
Chancel appears about once in every 2 million words in written English, the 40,267th most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce chancel?
- UK /ˈtʃɑːnsəl/
- US /ˈt͡ʃænsəl/
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: LL-Q1860_(eng)-Vealhurl-chancel.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Forms of chancel
- chancels plural
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does chancel mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 1
The space around the altar in a church or cathedral, often enclosed, for use by the clergy and the choir. In medieval cathedrals the chancel was usually enclosed or blocked off from the nave by an altar screen.
Holonyms: church, cathedral
- 2
The entire end of the church in which the altar stands, including the apse and the ambulatory.
Meronyms: presbytery, sanctuary, apse, ambulatory
- 3
A certain central portion of that end of the church, excluding the apse and the ambulatory.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Chancel in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
In the sense space around the altar in a church:
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | chancel, clôture de chœur |
| German | Altarraum |
| Portuguese | presbitério |
| Spanish | presbiterio |
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does chancel come from?
From Old French chancel. Doublet of cancellus.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).