Chela

//ˈkilə// noun

noun ·Uncommon ·Advanced level

Definitions

Noun
  1. 1
    A pincer-like claw of a crustacean or arachnid.

    "It happeneth often, I confess, that a lobster hath the chely or great claw of one side longer than the other […]"

  2. 2
    A pupil or disciple, especially in Hinduism.

    "Nay, I had a disciple with me. He that was my friend at the Temple of the Tirthankers gave me a chela for this journey."

  3. 3
    a grasping structure on the limb of a crustacean or other arthropods wordnet
  4. 4
    a Hindu disciple of a swami wordnet

Synonyms

All synonyms
clawclawnipperpincer

Example

More examples

"It happeneth often, I confess, that a lobster hath the chely or great claw of one side longer than the other […]"

Etymology

Etymology 1

From Latin chele, from Ancient Greek χηλή (khēlḗ).

Etymology 2

Borrowed from Hindi चेला (celā).

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Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.