Cancellus

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. A small or minor architectural feature often resembling a lattice or grating in design
2. A term in architecture referring to a decorative, often open structure that forms a pattern or grid
3. A grid-like element utilized in design to enhance aesthetic appeal or functional properties in buildings

Etymology: Latin "cancellus" meant "little crab," a diminutive of "cancer," the crab, which is also the source of the English word for the disease. The surprise is how a crustacean became an architectural term. Latin "cancelli" (plural) came to mean the grating or lattice that separated the sanctuary of a church from the nave, and the pattern of crossed bars resembled the lattice of a crab's legs or the criss-cross of the shell, so the name of the animal was transferred to the screen. English borrowed the word unchanged from Latin, which is why it still looks so foreign. It is a doublet of "chancel," the part of a church around the altar, which came into English through Old French and kept the older, more worn-down form. Both words descend from the same Latin screen, so the chancel is literally the space behind the lattice.

Synonyms: grating, barrier, lattice