cancel [LME] The early sense was ‘obliterate or delete writing by drawing or stamping lines across it’, which, in legal contexts, rendered documents void. It is from Old French canceller, from Latin cancellare, from cancelli ‘crossbars, grating’ describing the shape of the lines. Chancellor [OE] is also from cancelli, via cancellarius ‘porter, secretary’, a chancellor originally having been a court official stationed at a grating that separated the public from judges.