Obs. Forms: 4 celure, selure, cylour, 4–5 sylure, 5 celour, -er, seler, selowyr, silour, sylour, syllure, sillour, siller, 5–6 selour, 6 celler, cellar, seller, ceiler. [The derivation presents many points of obscurity, some of which are touched on under the related CEIL v., while others attach to the history of this particular derivative. Celure presupposes an OF. or AF. *celeüre, *celure, answering to L. cæ-, cēlātūra; celour, if a genuine form, might answer to an OF. *celeoir, *celoir = L. cēlātōrium; both these L. forms occur in med.L., chiefly in sense ‘canopy,’ and both are in ME. Vocabularies glossed by celure; but of the required OF. words no examples have yet been found. The L. words were of course derivatives of cælāre or cēlāre: see CEIL.]
A canopy covering a bed, dais, altar, etc., or carried above the Host during a procession. Also the hangings of a bed, the tapestry of a wall, a screen of drapery. Rood celure: a canopy over the rood.
c. 1340. Gaw. & Gr. Knt., 76. Guenore … Dressed on þe dere des … a selure hir ouer.
1418. E. E. Wills (1882), 36. A bed of Lyn wit a hool silour and Couerlet … also a bed of red and grene dimi Selour.
a. 1440. Sir Degrev., 1474. Hur bede was off aszure With testur and celure.
c. 1440. Promp. Parv., 456. Sylure, of valle [v.r. of a walle] or a nother thynge, celatura, celamen.
c. 1450. Voc., in Wr.-Wülcker, 571. Celatorium, a celour or a coverlet.
c. 1450. Bk. Curtasye, 445, in Babees Bk. (1868), 313. Two beddys … Þat henget shalle be with hole sylour.
c. 1475. Voc., in Wr.-Wülcker, 776. Hoc supralectum, a selowyr.
1483. Cath. Angl., 340. A Sylour, anabatrum [‘anabatrum, cortina’ (curtain) Gloss. in Du Cange, ed. 1883].
1494. Will of Sclatter (Somerset Ho.). Two celars of ooke oon of them to be sette ouer the aulter.
c. 1494. Art. Hen. VII., in Househ. Ord. (1790), 126. The font to bee hanged with a riche siller over.
1520. Lanc. Wills, I. 38. I bequethe unto the roode seller off Manchester xls.
1525. Ld. Berners, Froiss., II. clvii. [cliii.] 434. The lytter had a celler of a thynne fyne clothe of sylke. Ibid. (1527), I. 33. My body to be buryed in the Churche off Croston under the rode celler afore the chancel.
1530. Palsgr., 203/2. Cellar for a bedde, ciel de lit.
1553. Lanc. Wills, I. 105. One seller & tester of reede and greene seye wth curtens of the same.
¶ ? = CEILING 4, 5.
c. 1394. P. Pl. Crede, 201. As a greet chirche … wiþ semlich selure y-set on lofte.
c. 1400. Maundev., xxii. 239. Of gold & Sylver … he maketh cylours, Pyleres, & Paumentes, in his Palays.
Hence † Celured ppl. a., canopied; overarched. † Celuring, (sillering) = CELURE 1.
c. 1430. Lydg., Compl. Bl. Knt., viii. Celured eke alofte With bowys grene.
1558. Wills & Inv. N. C. (1835), I. 184. Another pressoure with a portall and ye sillering in the parler.
