Stopping something that was planned or agreed upon, or removing marks or lines to eliminate something written.
From Latin 'cancellare' meaning 'to cross out' or 'make like a lattice,' from 'cancelli' (lattice or grating). The modern sense of stopping plans evolved from the literal meaning of marking through something.
The British spelling 'cancelling' with double-L follows a special rule: when you add suffixes to short words with a stressed vowel before a consonant, you double the final consonant. That's why 'cancel' becomes 'cancelling' but 'open' becomes 'opening'—the stress changes the rule!
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