A chandlery was originally the office in a medieval household responsible for wax and candles, as well as the room in which the candles were kept. It was headed by a chandler. The office was subordinated to the kitchen, and only existed as a separate office in larger households. Whether a separate office or not, the function was naturally an important one, in a time before electric light, and when production of candles was often done privately. It was closely connected with other offices of the household, such as the ewery and the scullery. With this use, the term is largely obsolete today but can refer to a candle business. As such, a "chandler" is a person who sells candles.

Soap was a natural byproduct of candlemaking and by the 18th century most commercial chandlers dealt in candles and soap, although even then many were becoming general dealers. As these were the dealers that provided ship's stores, chandlery came to refer to a shop selling nautical items for ships and boats, although for a time they were called ship-chandleries to distinguish them. Americans used the term chandlery for these ship-chandleries, but tended to prefer the term chandler's shop. Both terms are still in use. The job function and title, chandler, still exists as someone who works in the chandlery business or manages a chandler's shop.