Merriam-Webster's Collegiate® Dictionary, 11th Edition
CANCEL
I. verb (-celed or -celled; -celing or cancelling)
Etymology: Middle English cancellen, from Anglo-French canceller, chanceller, from Late Latin cancellare, from Latin, to make like a lattice, from cancelli (plural), diminutive of cancer lattice, probably alteration of carcer prison
Date: 14th century
transitive verb
1. to destroy the force, effectiveness, or validity of ; annul , to bring to nothingness ; destroy , to match in force or effect ; offset , to call off usually without expectation of conducting or performing at a later time ,
2. to mark or strike out for deletion, omit , delete ,
3. to remove (a common divisor) from numerator and denominator, to remove (equivalents) on opposite sides of an equation or account, to deface (a postage or revenue stamp) especially with a set of ink lines so as to invalidate for reuse, intransitive verb to neutralize each other's strength or effect ; counterbalance , cancelable or cancellable adjective canceler or canceller noun
II. noun
Date: 1806
cancellation ,
2. a deleted part or passage, b. a leaf containing matter to be deleted, a new leaf or slip substituted for matter already printed