From Latin 'cancellare' (to draw lattice lines across), the act of crossing out a document with grid-like marks to void it.
To decide that something planned will not take place; to annul or invalidate.
From Latin 'cancellare' (to make like a lattice), from 'cancelli' (lattice bars, crossbars). To cancel a document meant to cross it out with lattice-like lines — drawing a grid across the text to void it. Key roots: cancelli (Latin: "lattice bars, crossbars").
'Cancel,' 'chancellor,' and 'chancel' (the part of a church near the altar) all come from the same Latin word for a lattice gate. A chancellor was originally the usher who stood at the lattice barrier in a Roman law court. The chancel in a church is the area behind the lattice screen. And canceling is