Word.ws English Dictionary

spigurnel

/spɪˈɡɜː(ɹ)nəl/

spigurnel noun: the sealer of writs in chancery.

Noun

spigurnel (plural spigurnels)

  1. (UK, obsolete) The sealer of writs in chancery.
    • On the 4th of October, being Sunday, the Bishop of Ely, chancellor, producing the new seal, declares the king's pleasure, that it should be from thenceforth used; the Monday after the old seal is broke, præcipiente rege and the pieces delivered to the Spigurnel.1904, John Greene Henderson, Chancery Practice, page 103
    • Several Spigurnels of the thirteenth century are, moreover, described indifferently as Serjeants of the King's Chapel and Serjeants of his Chancery1926, Sir H. C. Maxwell Lyte, Historical Notes on the Use of the Great Seal of England

Examples of spigurnel in a sentence

  • In 1224-5, for example, we find the bishop's bailiffs at Southwark buying ten pounds of wax 'for the spigurnel by the bishop's order'.1980, David Michael Smith, Nicholas Vincent, B. R. Kemp, English Episcopal Acta: Winchester, 1205-1238, page xlvii:
  • Henry IV provided royal confirmations to several minor Chancery officials , including the spigurnel of Chancery, along with letters patent confirming the office of “chaufeire” within Chancery.1999, Medieval Prosopography - Volume 20, page 203:

Forms of spigurnel

pluralspigurnels

Origin of spigurnel

From Saxon spicurran, to shut up or enclose.

Words formed from spigurnel

Questions about spigurnel

What does spigurnel mean?
Spigurnel means the sealer of writs in chancery.
How do you use spigurnel in a sentence?
In 1224-5, for example, we find the bishop's bailiffs at Southwark buying ten pounds of wax 'for the spigurnel by the bishop's order'.
What part of speech is spigurnel?
Spigurnel is a noun.
How do you pronounce spigurnel?
Spigurnel is pronounced /spɪˈɡɜː(ɹ)nəl/.
What is the plural of spigurnel?
The plural of spigurnel is spigurnels.

Words near spigurnel in the dictionary

  1. spigots
  2. spigotted
  3. spigotties
  4. spigotting
  5. spigotty
  6. spigurnel
  7. spigurnels
  8. spik
  9. spikage
  10. spike
  11. spike a temp

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: spigurnel (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.

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