Chapter C: G. T (2)

CHANGE Change, v. t. [Imp. & p. p. Changed; p. pr. & vb. n. Changing.] Etym: [F. changer, fr. LL. cambiare, to exchange, barter, L. cambire. Cf. Cambial.]

1. To alter; to make different; to cause to pass from one state to another; as, to change the position, character, or appearance of a thing; to change the countenance. Therefore will I change their glory into shame. Hosea. iv. 7.

2. To alter by substituting something else for, or by giving up for something else; as, to change the clothes; to change one's occupation; to change one's intention. They that do change old love for new, Pray gods, they change for worse! Peele.

3. To give and take reciprocally; to exchange; -- followed by with; as, to change place, or hats, or money, with another. Look upon those thousands with whom thou wouldst not, for any interest, change thy fortune and condition. Jer. Taylor.

4. Specifically: To give, or receive, smaller denominations of money (technically called change) for; as, to change a gold coin or a bank bill. He pulled out a thirty-pound note and bid me change it. Goldsmith. To change a horse, or To change hand (Man.), to turn or bear the horse's head from one hand to the other, from the left to right, or from the right to the left. -- To change hands, to change owners. -- To change one's tune, to become less confident or boastful. [Colloq.] -- To change step, to take a break in the regular succession of steps, in marching or walking, as by bringing the hollow of one foot against the heel of the other, and then stepping off with the foot which is in advance.

Syn. -- To alter; vary; deviate; substitute; innovate; diversify; shift; veer; turn. See Alter.

CHANGE Change, v. i.

1. To be altered; to undergo variation; as, men sometimes change for the better. For I am Lord, I change not. Mal. iii. 6.

2. To pass from one phase to another; as, the moon changes to-morrow night.

CHANGE Change, n. Etym: [F. change, fr. changer. See Change. v. t.]

1. Any variation or alteration; a passing from one state or form to another; as, a change of countenance; a change of habits or principles. Apprehensions of a change of dynasty. Hallam. All the days of my appointed time will I wait, till my change come. Job xiv. 14.

2. A succesion or substitution of one thing in the place of another; a difference; novelty; variety; as, a change of seasons. Our fathers did for change to France repair. Dryden. The ringing grooves of change. Tennyson.

3. A passing from one phase to another; as, a change of the moon.

4. Alteration in the order of a series; permutation.

5. That which makes a variety, or may be substituted for another. Thirty change (R.V. changes) of garments. Judg. xiv. 12.

6. Small money; the money by means of which the larger coins and bank bills are made available in small dealings; hence, the balance returned when payment is tendered by a coin or note exceeding the sum due.

7. Etym: [See Exchange.]

Defn: A place where merchants and others meet to transact business; a building appropriated for mercantile transactions. [Colloq. for Exchange.]

8. A public house; an alehouse. [Scot.] They call an alehouse a change. Burt.

9. (Mus.)

Defn: Any order in which a number of bells are struck, other than that of the diatonic scale. Four bells admit twenty-four changes in ringing. Holder. Change of life, the period in the life of a woman when menstruation and the capacity for conception cease, usually occurring between forty-five and fifty years of age. -- Change ringing, the continual production, without repetition, of changes on bells, See def. 9. above. -- Change wheel (Mech.), one of a set of wheels of different sizes and number of teeth, that may be changed or substituted one for another in machinery, to produce a different but definite rate of angular velocity in an axis, as in cutting screws, gear, etc. -- To ring the changes on, to present the same facts or arguments in variety of ways.

Syn. -- Variety; variation; alteration; mutation; transition; vicissitude; innovation; novelty; transmutation; revolution; reverse.

CHANGEABILITY Change`a*bil"i*ty, n.

Defn: Changeableness.

CHANGEABLE Change"a*ble, a. Etym: [Cf. F. changeable.]

1. Capable of change; subject to alteration; mutable; variable; fickle; inconstant; as, a changeable humor.

2. Appearing different, as in color, in different lights, or under different circumstances; as, changeable silk.

Syn. -- Mutable; alterable; variable; inconstant; fitful; vacillating; capricious; fickle; unstable; unsteady; unsettled; wavering; erratic; giddy; volatile.

CHANGEABLENESS Change"a*ble*ness, n.

Defn: The quality of being changeable; fickleness; inconstancy; mutability.

CHANGEABLY Change"a*bly, adv.

Defn: In a changeable manner.

CHANGEFUL Change"ful, a.

Defn: Full of change; mutable; inconstant; fickle; uncertain. Pope. His course had been changeful. Motley. -- Change"ful*ly, adv. -- Change"ful*ness, n.

CHANGE GEAR Change gear. (Mach.)

Defn: A gear by means of which the speed of machinery or of a vehicle may be changed while that of the propelling engine or motor remains constant; -- called also change-speed gear.

CHANGE KEY Change key.

Defn: A key adapted to open only one of a set of locks; -- distinguished from a master key.

CHANGELESS Change"less, a.

Defn: That can not be changed; constant; as, a changeless purpose. -- Change"less*ness, n.

CHANGELING Change"ling, n. Etym: [Change + -ling.]

1. One who, or that which, is left or taken in the place of another, as a child exchanged by fairies. Such, men do changelings call, so changed by fairies' theft. Spenser. The changeling [a substituted writing] never known. Shak.

2. A simpleton; an idiot. Macaulay. Changelings and fools of heaven, and thence shut out. Wildly we roam in discontent about. Dryden.

3. One apt to change; a waverer. "Fickle changelings." Shak.

CHANGELING Change"ling, a.

1. Taken or left in place of another; changed. "A little changeling boy." Shak.

2. Given to change; inconstant. [Obs.] Some are so studiously changeling. Boyle.

CHANGER Chan"ger, n.

1. One who changes or alters the form of anything.

2. One who deals in or changes money. John ii. 14.

3. One apt to change; an inconstant person.

CHANK Chank", n. Etym: [Skr. çankha. See Conch.] (Zoöl.)

Defn: The East Indian name for the large spiral shell of several species of sea conch much used in making bangles, esp. Turbinella pyrum. Called also chank chell.

CHANNEL Chan"nel, n. Etym: [OE. chanel, canel, OF. chanel, F. chenel, fr. L. canalis. See Canal.]

1. The hollow bed where a stream of water runs or may run.

2. The deeper part of a river, harbor, strait, etc., where the main current flows, or which affords the best and safest passage for vessels.

3. (Geog.)

Defn: A strait, or narrow sea, between two portions of lands; as, the British Channel.

4. That through which anything passes; means of passing, conveying, or transmitting; as, the news was conveyed to us by different channels. The veins are converging channels. Dalton. At best, he is but a channel to convey to the National assembly such matter as may import that body to know. Burke.

5. A gutter; a groove, as in a fluted column.

6. pl. Etym: [Cf. Chain wales.] (Naut.)

Defn: Flat ledges of heavy plank bolted edgewise to the outside of a vessel, to increase the spread of the shrouds and carry them clear of the bulwarks. Channel bar, Channel iron (Arch.), an iron bar or beam having a section resembling a flat gutter or channel. -- Channel bill (Zoöl.), a very large Australian cucko (Scythrops Novæhollandiæ. -- Channel goose. (Zoöl.) See Gannet.

CHANNEL Chan"nel, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Channeled, or Channelled; p. pr. & vb. n. Channeling, or Channelling.]

1. To form a channel in; to cut or wear a channel or channels in; to groove. No more shall trenching war channel her fields. Shak.

2. To course through or over, as in a channel. Cowper.

CHANNELING Chan"nel*ing, n.

1. The act or process of forming a channel or channels.

2. A channel or a system of channels; a groove.

CHANSON Chan"son, n. Etym: [F., fr. L. cantion song. See Cantion, Canzone.]

Defn: A song. Shak.

CHANSON DE GESTE Chan`son" de geste". [F., prop., song of history.]

Defn: Any Old French epic poem having for its subject events or exploits of early French history, real or legendary, and written originally in assonant verse of ten or twelve syllables. The most famous one is the Chanson de Roland.

Langtoft had written in the ordinary measure of the later chansons de geste. Saintsbury.

CHANSONNETTE Chan`son*nette", n.; pl. Chansonnettes. Etym: [F., dim. of chanson.]

Defn: A little song. These pretty little chansonnettes that he sung. Black.

CHANT Chant, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Chanted; p. pr. & vb. n. Chanting.] Etym: [F. chanter, fr. L. cantare, intens. of canere to sing. Cf. Cant affected speaking, and see Hen.]

1. To utter with a melodious voice; to sing. The cheerful birds . . . do chant sweet music. Spenser.

2. To celebrate in song. The poets chant in the theaters. Bramhall.

3. (Mus.)

Defn: To sing or recite after the manner of a chant, or to a tune called a chant.

CHANT Chant, v. i.

1. To make melody with the voice; to sing. "Chant to the sound of the viol." Amos vi. 5.

2. (Mus.)

Defn: To sing, as in reciting a chant. To chant (or chaunt) horses, to sing their praise; to overpraise; to cheat in selling. See Chaunter. Thackeray.

CHANT Chant, n.Etym: [F. chant, fr. L. cantus singing, song, fr. canere to sing. See Chant, v. t.]

1. Song; melody.

2. (Mus.)

Defn: A short and simple melody, divided into two parts by double bars, to which unmetrical psalms, etc., are sung or recited. It is the most ancient form of choral music.

3. A psalm, etc., arranged for chanting.

4. Twang; manner of speaking; a canting tone. [R.] His strange face, his strange chant. Macaulay. Ambrosian chant, See under Ambrosian. Chant royal Etym: [F.], in old French poetry, a poem containing five strophes of eleven lines each, and a concluding stanza. -- each of these six parts ending with a common refrain. -- Gregorian chant. See under Gregorian.

CHANTANT Chan`tant", a. Etym: [F. singing.] (Mus.)

Defn: Composed in a melodious and singing style.

CHANTER Chant"er, n. Etym: [Cf. F. chanteur.]

1. One who chants; a singer or songster. Pope.

2. The chief singer of the chantry. J. Gregory.

3. The flute or finger pipe in a bagpipe. See Bagpipe.

4. (Zoöl.)

Defn: The hedge sparrow.

CHANTERELLE Chan`te*relle", n. Etym: [F.] (Bot.)

Defn: A name for several species of mushroom, of which one (Cantharellus cibrius) is edible, the others reputed poisonous.

CHANTEY Chant"ey, n. [Cf. F. chanter to sing, and Chant. n.]

Defn: A sailor's song.

May we lift a deep-sea chantey such as seamen use at sea Kipling.

CHANTICLEER Chan"ti*cleer, n. Etym: [F. Chanteclair, name of the cock in the Roman du Renart (Reynard the Fox); chanter to chant + clair clear. See Chant, and Clear.]

Defn: A cock, so called from the clearness or loundness of his voice in crowing.

CHANTING Chant"ing, n.

Defn: Singing, esp. as a chant is sung. Chanting falcon (Zoöl.), an African falcon (Melierax canorus or musicus). The male has the habit, remarkable in a bird of prey, of singing to his mate, while she is incubating.

CHANTOR Chant"or, n.

Defn: A chanter.

CHANTRESS Chant"ress, n. Etym: [Cf. OF. chanteresse.]

Defn: A female chanter or singer. Milton.

CHANTRY Chant"ry, n.; pl. Chantries. Etym: [OF. chanterie, fr. chanter to sing.]

1. An endowment or foundation for the chanting of masses and offering of prayers, commonly for the founder.

2. A chapel or altar so endowed. Cowell.

CHAOMANCY Cha"o*man`cy, n. Etym: [Gr. -mancy.]

Defn: Divination by means of apperances in the air.

CHAOS Cha"os, n. Etym: [L. chaos chaos (in senses 1 & 2), Gr. Chasm.]

1. An empty, immeasurable space; a yawning chasm. [Archaic] Between us and there is fixed a great chaos. Luke xvi. 26 (Rhemish Trans. ).

2. The confused, unorganized condition or mass of matter before the creation of distinct and order forms.

3. Any confused or disordered collection or state of things; a confused mixture; confusion; disorder.

CHAOTIC Cha*ot"ic, a.

Defn: Resembling chaos; confused.

CHAOTICALLY Cha*ot"ic*al*ly, adv.

Defn: In a chaotic manner.

CHAP Chap, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Chapped; p. pr. & vb. n. Chapping.] Etym: [See Chop to cut.]

1. To cause to open in slits or chinks; to split; to cause the skin of to crack or become rough. Then would unbalanced heat licentious reign, Crack the dry hill, and chap the russet plain. Blackmore. Nor winter's blast chap her fair face. Lyly.

2. To strike; to beat. [Scot.]

CHAP Chap, v. i.

1. To crack or open in slits; as, the earth chaps; the hands chap.

2. To strike; to knock; to rap. [Scot.]

CHAP Chap, n. Etym: [From Chap, v. t. & i.]

1. A cleft, crack, or chink, as in the surface of the earth, or in the skin.

2. A division; a breach, as in a party. [Obs.] Many clefts and chaps in our council board. T. Fuller.

3. A blow; a rap. [Scot.]

CHAP Chap, n. Etym: [OE. chaft; of Scand. origin; cf. Icel kjaptr jaw, Sw. Käft, D. kiæft; akin to G. kiefer, and E. jowl. Cf. Chops.]

1. One of the jaws or the fleshy covering of a jaw; -- commonly in the plural, and used of animals, and colloquially of human beings. His chaps were all besmeared with crimson blood. Cowley. He unseamed him [Macdonald] from the nave to the chaps. Shak.

2. One of the jaws or cheeks of a vise, etc.

CHAP Chap, n. Etym: [Perh. abbreviated fr. chapman, but used in a more general sense; or cf. Dan. kiæft jaw, person, E. chap jaw.]

1. A buyer; a chapman. [Obs.] If you want to sell, here is your chap. Steele.

2. A man or boy; a youth; a fellow. [Colloq.]

CHAP Chap, v. i. Etym: [See Cheapen.]

Defn: To bargain; to buy. [Obs.]

CHAPARAJOS Cha`pa*ra"jos, n. pl. [Mex. Sp.]

Defn: Overalls of sheepskin or leather, usually open at the back, worn, esp. by cowboys, to protect the legs from thorny bushes, as in the chaparral; -- called also chapareras or colloq. chaps. [Sp. Amer.]

CHAPARERAS Cha`pa*re"ras, n. pl. [Mex. Sp.]

Defn: Same as Chaparajos. [Sp. Amer.]

CHAPARRAL Cha`par*ral", n. Etym: [Sp., fr. chaparro an evergeen oak.]

1. A thicket of low evergreen oaks.

2. An almost impenetrable thicket or succession of thickets of thorny shrubs and brambles. Chaparral cock; fem. Chaparral hen (Zoöl.), a bird of the cuckoo family (Geococcyx Californianus), noted for running with great speed. It ranges from California to Mexico and eastward to Texas; -- called also road runner, ground cuckoo, churea, and snake killerit is the state bird of New Mexico.

CHAPBOOK Chap"book`, n. Etym: [See Chap to cheapen.]

Defn: Any small book carried about for sale by chapmen or hawkers. Hence, any small book; a toy book.

CHAPE Chape, n. Etym: [F., a churchman's cope, a cover, a chape, fr. L. cappa. See Cap.]

1. The piece by which an object is attached to something, as the frog of a scabbard or the metal loop at the back of a buckle by which it is fastened to a strap.

2. The transverse guard of a sword or dagger.

3. The metal plate or tip which protects the end of a scabbard, belt, etc. Knight.

CHAPEAU Cha`peau", n.; pl. Chapeux. Etym: [F., fr. OF. chapel hat. See Chaplet.]

1. hat or covering for the head.

2. (Her.)

Defn: A cap of maintenance. See Maintenance. Chapeau bras ( Etym: [F. chapeau hat + bras arm], a hat so made that it can be compressed and carried under the arm without injury. Such hats were particularly worn on dress occasions by gentlemen in the 18th century. A chapeau bras is now worn in the United States army by general and staff officers.

CHAPED Chaped, p. p. or a.

Defn: Furnished with a chape or chapes. [Obs.] Chaucer.

CHAPEL Chap"el, n. Etym: [OF. chapele, F. chapelle, fr. LL. capella, orig., a short cloak, hood, or cowl; later, a reliquary, sacred vessel, chapel; dim. of cappa, capa, cloak, cape, cope; also, a covering for the head. The chapel where St. Martin's cloak was preserved as a precious relic, itself came to be called capella, whence the name was applied to similar paces of worship, and the guardian of this cloak was called capellanus, or chaplain. See Cap, and cf. Chaplain., Chaplet.]

1. A subordinate place of worship; as, (a) a small church, often a private foundation, as for a memorial; (b) a small building attached to a church; (c) a room or recess in a church, containing an altar.

Note: In Catholic churches, and also in cathedrals and abbey churches, chapels are usually annexed in the recesses on the sides of the aisles. Gwilt.

2. A place of worship not connected with a church; as, the chapel of a palace, hospital, or prison.

3. In England, a place of worship used by dissenters from the Established Church; a meetinghouse.

4. A choir of singers, or an orchastra, attached to the court of a prince or nobleman.

5. (Print.) (a) A printing office, said to be so called because printing was first carried on in England in a chapel near Westminster Abbey. (b) An association of workmen in a printing office. Chapel of ease. (a) A chapel or dependent church built for the ease or a accommodation of an increasing parish, or for parishioners who live at a distance from the principal church. (b) A privy. (Law) -- Chapel master, a director of music in a chapel; the director of a court or orchestra. -- To build a chapel (Naut.), to chapel a ship. See Chapel, v. t., 2. -- To hold a chapel, to have a meeting of the men employed in a printing office, for the purpose of considering questions affecting their interests.

CHAPEL Chap"el, v. t.

1. To deposit or inter in a chapel; to enshrine. [Obs.] Beau. & Fl.

2. (Naut.)

Defn: To cause (a ship taken aback in a light breeze) so to turn or make a circuit as to recover, without bracing the yards, the same tack on which she had been sailing.

CHAPELESS Chape"less, a.

Defn: Without a chape.

CHAPELET Chap"e*let, n. Etym: [F. See Chaplet.]

1. A pair of Straps, with stirrups, joined at the top and fastened to the pommel or the frame of the saddle, after they have been adjusted to the convenience of the rider. [Written also chaplet.]

2. A kind of chain pump, or dredging machine.

CHAPELLANY Chap"el*la*ny, n.; pl. Chapellanies. Etym: [Cf. E. chapellenie, LL. capellania. See Chaplain.]

Defn: A chapel within the jurisdiction of a church; a subordinate ecclesiastical foundation.

CHAPELRY Chap"el*ry, n. Etym: [Cf. OF. chapelerie.]

Defn: The territorial disrict legally assigned to a chapel.

CHAPERON Chap"er*on, n. Etym: [F. chaperon. See Chape, Cape, Cap.]

1. A hood; especially, an ornamental or an official hood. His head and face covered with a chaperon, out of which there are but two holes to look through. Howell.

2. A divice placed on the foreheads of horses which draw the hearse in pompous funerals.

3. A matron who accompanies a young lady in public, for propriety, or as a guide and protector.

CHAPERON Chap"er*on, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Chaperoned; p. pr. & vb. n. Chaperoning.] Etym: [Cf. F. chaperonner, fr. chaperon.]

Defn: To attend in public places as a guide and protector; to matronize. Fortunately Lady Bell Finley, whom I had promised to chaperon, sent to excuse herself. Hannah More.

CHAPERONAGE Chap"er*on`age, n.

Defn: Attendance of a chaperon on a lady in public; protection afforded by a chaperon.

CHAPFALLEN Chap"fall`en, a.

Defn: Having the lower chap or jaw drooping, -- an indication of humiliation and dejection; crestfallen; discouraged. See Chopfallen.

CHAPITER Chap"i*ter, n. Etym: [OF. chapitel, F. chapiteau, from L. capitellum, dim. of caput head. Cf. Capital, Chapter.]

1. (Arch.)

Defn: A capital [Obs.] See Chapital. Ex. xxxvi. 38.

2. (Old Eng. Law)

Defn: A summary in writing of such matters as are to be inquired of or presented before justices in eyre, or justices of assize, or of the peace, in their sessions; -- also called articles. Jacob.

CHAPLAIN Chap"lain, n. Etym: [F. chapelain, fr. LL. capellanus, fr. capella. See Chapel.]

1. An ecclesiastic who has a chapel, or who performs religious service in a chapel.

2. A clergyman who is officially atteched to the army or navy, to some public institution, or to a family or court, for the purpose of performing divine service.

3. Any person (clergyman or layman) chosen to conduct religious exercises for a society, etc.; as, a chaplain of a Masonic or a temperance lodge.

CHAPLAINCY Chap"lain*cy, n.; pl. Chaplaincies (.

Defn: The office, position, or station of a chaplain. Swift.

CHAPLAINSHIP Chap"lain*ship, n.

1. The office or business of a chaplain. The Bethesda of some knight's chaplainship. Milton.

2. The possession or revenue of a chapel. Johnson.

CHAPLESS Chap"less, a.

Defn: Having no lower jaw; hence, fleshless. [R.] "Yellow, chapless skulls." Shak.

CHAPLET Chap"let, n. Etym: [F. chapelet, dim. of OF. chapel hat, garland, dim. fr. LL. cappa. See Cap, and cf. Chapelet, Chapeau.]

1. A garland or wreath to be worn on the head.

2. A string of beads, or part of a string, used by Roman Catholic in praying; a third of a rosary, or fifty beads. Her chaplet of beads and her missal. Longfellow.

3. (Arch.)

Defn: A small molding, carved into beads, pearls, olives, etc.

4. (Man.)

Defn: A chapelet. See Chapelet, 1.

5. (Founding)

Defn: A bent piece of sheet iron, or a pin with thin plates on its ends, for holding a core in place in the mold.

6. A tuft of feathers on a peacock's head. Johnson.

CHAPLET Chap"let, n.

Defn: A small chapel or shrine.

CHAPLET Chap"let, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Chapleted.]

Defn: To adorn with a chaplet or with flowers. R. Browning.

CHAPMAN Chap"man, n.; pl. Chapmen. Etym: [AS. ceápman; ceáp trade + man man; akin to D. koopman, Sw. köpman, Dan. kiöpmand, G. kaufmann.f. Chap to cheapen, and see Cheap.]

1. One who buys and sells; a merchant; a buyer or a seller. [Obs.] The word of life is a quick commodity, and ought not, as a drug to be obtruded on those chapmen who are unwilling to buy it. T. Fuller.

2. A peddler; a hawker.

CHAPPY Chap"py,

Defn: Full of chaps; cleft; gaping; open.

CHAPS Chaps, n. pl.

Defn: The jaws, or the fleshy parts about them. See Chap. "Open your chaps again." Shak.

CHAPTER Chap"ter, n. Etym: [OF. chapitre, F. chapitre, fr. L. capitulum, dim. of caput head, the chief person or thing, the principal division of a writing, chapter. See Chief, and cf, Chapiter.]

1. A division of a book or treatise; as, Genesis has fifty chapters.

2. (Eccl.) (a) An assembly of monks, or of the prebends and other clergymen connected with a cathedral, conventual, or collegiate church, or of a diocese, usually presided over by the dean. (b) A community of canons or canonesses. (c) A bishop's council. (d) A business meeting of any religious community.

3. An organized branch of some society or fraternity as of the Freemasons. Robertson.

4. A meeting of certain organized societies or orders.

5. A chapter house. [R.] Burrill.

6. A decretal epistle. Ayliffe.

7. A location or compartment. In his bosom! In what chapter of his bosom Shak. Chapter head, or Chapter heading, that which stands at the head of a chapter, as a title. -- Chapter house, a house or room where a chapter meets, esp. a cathedral chapter. -- The chapter of accidents, chance. Marryat.

CHAPTER Chap"ter, v. t.

1. To divide into chapters, as a book. Fuller.

2. To correct; to bring to book, i. e., to demand chapter and verse. [Obs.] Dryden.

CHAPTREL Chap"trel, n. Etym: [See Chapiter.] (Arch.)

Defn: An impost. [Obs.]

CHAR; CHARR Char, Charr, n. Etym: [Ir. cear, Gael. ceara, lit., red, blood- colored, fr. cear blood. So named from its red belly.] (Zoöl.)

Defn: One of the several species of fishes of the genus Salvelinus, allied to the spotted trout and salmon, inhabiting deep lakes in mountainous regions in Europe. In the United States, the brook trout (Salvelinus fontinalis) is sometimes called a char.

CHAR Char, n. Etym: [F.]

Defn: A car; a chariot. [Obs.] Chaucer.

CHAR Char, n. Etym: [OE. cherr, char a turning, time, work, AS. cerr, cyrr, turn, occasion, business, fr. cerran, cyrran, to turn; akin to OS. kërian, OHG. chëran, G. kehren. Cf. Chore, Ajar.]

Defn: Work done by the day; a single job, or task; a chore. [Written also chare.] [Eng.] When thou hast done this chare, I give thee leave To play till doomsday. Shak.

CHAR; CHARE Char, Chare, v. t. Etym: [See 3d Char.]

1. To perform; to do; to finish. [Obs.] Nores. Thet char is chared, as the good wife said when she had hanged her husband. Old Proverb.

2. To work or hew, as stone. Oxf. Gloss.

CHAR; CHARE Char, Chare, v. i.

Defn: To work by the day, without being a regularly hired servant; to do small jobs.

CHAR Char, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Charred; p. pr. & vb. n. Charring.] Etym: [Prob. the same word as char to perform (see Char, n.), the modern use coming from charcoal, prop. coal-turned, turned to coal.]

1. To reduce to coal or carbon by exposure to heat; to reduce to charcoal; to burn to a cinder.

2. To burn slightly or partially; as, to char wood.

CHARA Cha"ra, n. Etym: [NL., of uncertain origin.] (Bot.)

Defn: A genus of flowerless plants, having articulated stems and whorled branches. They flourish in wet places.

CHAR-A-BANC Char`-a-banc", n.; pl. Chars-a-banc. Etym: [F.]

Defn: A long, light, open vehicle, with benches or seats running lengthwise.

CHARACT Char"act, n.

Defn: A distinctive mark; a character; a letter or sign. [Obs.] See Character. In all his dressings, characts, titles, forms. Shak.

CHARACTER Char"ac*ter, n. Etym: [L., an instrument for marking, character, Gr. caractère.]

1. A distinctive mark; a letter, figure, or symbol. It were much to be wished that there were throughout the world but one sort of character for each letter to express it to the eye. Holder.

2. Style of writing or printing; handwriting; the peculiar form of letters used by a particular person or people; as, an inscription in the Runic character. You know the character to be your brother's Shak.

3. The peculiar quality, or the sum of qualities, by which a person or a thing is distinguished from others; the stamp impressed by nature, education, or habit; that which a person or thing really is; nature; disposition. The character or that dominion. Milton. Know well each Ancient's proper character; His fable, subject, scope in every page; Religion, Country, genius of his Age. Pope. A man of . . . thoroughly subservient character. Motley.

4. Strength of mind; resolution; independence; individuality; as, he has a great deal of character.

5. Moral quality; the principles and motives that control the life; as, a man of character; his character saves him from suspicion.

6. Quality, position, rank, or capacity; quality or conduct with respect to a certain office or duty; as, in the miserable character of a slave; in his character as a magistrate; her character as a daughter.

7. The estimate, individual or general, put upon a person or thing; reputation; as, a man's character for truth and veracity; to give one a bad character. This subterraneous passage is much mended since Seneca gave so bad a character of it. Addison.

8. A written statement as to behavior, competency, etc., given to a servant. [Colloq.]

9. A unique or extraordinary individuality; a person characterized by peculiar or notable traits; a person who illustrates certain phases of character; as, Randolph was a character; Cæsar is a great historical character.

10. One of the persons of a drama or novel.

Note: "It would be well if character and reputation were used distinctively. In truth, character is what a person is; reputation is what he is supposed to be. Character is in himself, reputation is in the minds of others. Character is injured by temptations, and by wrongdoing; reputation by slanders, and libels. Character endures throughout defamation in every form, but perishes when there is a voluntary transgression; reputation may last through numerous transgressions, but be destroyed by a single, and even an unfounded, accusation or aspersion." Abbott.

CHARACTER Char"ac*ter, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Charactered.]

1. To engrave; to inscribe. [R.] These trees shall be my books. And in their barks my thoughts I 'll character. Shak.

2. To distinguish by particular marks or traits; to describe; to characterize. [R.] Mitford.

CHARACTERISM Char"ac*ter*ism, n. Etym: [Gr.

Defn: A distinction of character; a characteristic. [Obs.] Bp. Hall.

CHARACTERISTIC Char`ac*ter*is"tic, a. Etym: [Gr. charactéristique.]

Defn: Pertaining to, or serving to constitute, the character; showing the character, or distinctive qualities or traits, of a person or thing; peculiar; distinctive. Characteristic clearness of temper. Macaulay.

CHARACTERISTIC Char`ac*ter*is"tic, n.

1. A distinguishing trait, quality, or property; an element of character; that which characterized. Pope. The characteristics of a true critic. Johnson.

2. (Math.)

Defn: The integral part (whether positive or negative) of a logarithm.

CHARACTERISTICAL Char`ac*ter*is"tic*al, a.

Defn: Characteristic.

CHARACTERISTICALLY Char`ac*ter*is"tic*al*ly, adv.

Defn: In a characteristic manner; in a way that characterizes.

CHARACTERIZATION Char`ac*ter*i*za"tion, n.

Defn: The act or process of characterizing.

CHARACTERIZE Char"ac*ter*ize, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Characterized; p. pr. & vb. n. Characterizing.] Etym: [LL. characterizare, Gr. charactériser.]

1. To make distinct and recognizable by peculiar marks or traits; to make with distinctive features. European, Asiatic, Chinese, African, and Grecian faces are Characterized. Arbuthot.

2. To engrave or imprint. [Obs.] Sir M. Hale.

3. To indicate the character of; to describe. Under the name of Tamerlane he intended to characterize King William. Johnson.

4. To be a characteristic of; to make, or express the character of. The softness and effeminacy which characterize the men of rank in most countries. W. Irving.

Syn. -- To describe; distinguish; mark; designate; style; particularize; entitle.

CHARACTERLESS Char"ac*ter*less, a.

Defn: Destitute of any distinguishing quality; without character or force.

CHARACTERY Char"ac*ter*y, n.

1. The art or means of characterizing; a system of signs or characters; symbolism; distinctive mark. Fairies use flowers for their charactery. Shak.

2. That which is charactered; the meaning. [Obs.] I will construe to thee All the charactery of my sad brows. Shak.

CHARADE Cha*rade", n. Etym: [F. charade, cf. Pr. charrada long chat, It ciarlare to chat, whence E. charlatan.]

Defn: A verbal or acted enigma based upon a word which has two or more significant syllables or parts, each of which, as well as the word itself, is to be guessed from the descriptions or representations.

CHARBOCLE Char"bo*cle, n.

Defn: Carbuncle. [Written also Charboncle.] [Obs.] Chaucer.

CHARBON Char"bon, n. Etym: [F., coal, charbon.]

1. (Far.)

Defn: A small black spot or mark remaining in the cavity of the corner tooth of a horse after the large spot or mark has become obliterated.

2. A very contagious and fatal disease of sheep, horses, and cattle. See Maligmant pustule.

CHARCOAL Char"coal`, n. Etym: [See Char, v. t., to burn or to reduce to coal, and Coal.]

1. Impure carbon prepared from vegetable or animal substances; esp., coal made by charring wood in a kiln, retort, etc., from which air is excluded. It is used for fuel and in various mechanical, artistic, and chemical processes.

2. (Fine Arts)

Defn: Finely prepared charcoal in small sticks, used as a drawing implement. Animal charcoal, a fine charcoal prepared by calcining bones in a closed vessel; -- used as a filtering agent in sugar refining, and as an absorbent and disinfectant. -- Charcoal blacks, the black pigment, consisting of burnt ivory, bone, cock, peach stones, and other substances. -- Charcoal drawing (Fine Arts), a drawing made with charcoal. See Charcoal, 2. Until within a few years this material has been used almost exclusively for preliminary outline, etc., but at present many finished drawings are made with it. -- Charcoal point, a carbon pencil prepared for use un an electric light apparatus. -- Mineral charcoal, a term applied to silky fibrous layers of charcoal, interlaminated in beds of ordinary bituminous coal; -- known to miners as mother of coal.

CHARD Chard, n. Etym: [Cf. F. carde esclent thistle.]

1. The tender leaves or leafstalks of the artichoke, white beet, etc., blanched for table use.

2. A variety of the white beet, which produces large, succulent leaves and leafstalks.

CHARE Chare, n.

Defn: A narrow street. [Prov. Eng.]

CHARE Chare, n. & v.

Defn: A chore; to chore; to do. See Char.

CHARGE Charge, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Charged; p. pr. & vb. n. Charging.] Etym: [OF. chargier, F. charger, fr. LL. carricare, fr. L. carrus wagon. Cf. Cargo, Caricature, Cark, and see Car.]

1. To lay on or impose, as a load, tax, or burden; to load; to fill. A carte that charged was with hay. Chaucer. The charging of children's memories with rules. Locke.

2. To lay on or impose, as a task, duty, or trust; to command, instruct, or exhort with authority; to enjoin; to urge earnestly; as, to charge a jury; to charge the clergy of a diocese; to charge an agent. Moses . . . charged you to love the Lord your God. Josh. xxii. 5. Cromwell, I charge thee, fing away ambition. Shak.

3. To lay on, impose, or make subject to or liable for. When land shal be charged by any lien. Kent.

4. To fix or demand as a prince; as, he charges two dollars a barrelk for apples.

5. To place something to the account of as a debt; to debit, as to charge one with goods. Also, to enter upon the debit side of an account; as, to charge a sum to one.

6. To impute or ascribe; to lay to one's charge. No more accuse thy pen, but charge the crime On native loth and negligence of time. Dryden.

7. To accuse; to make a charge or assertion against (a) person or thing); to lay the responsibility (for something said or done) at the door of. If the did that wrong you charge with. Tennyson.

8. To place within or upon any firearm, piece of apparatus or machinery, the quantity it is intended and fitted to hold or bear; to load; to fill; as, to charge a gun; to charge an electrical machine, etc. Their battering cannon charged to the mouths. Shak.

9. To ornament with or cause to bear; as, to charge an architectural member with a molding.

10. (Her.)

Defn: To assume as a bearing; as, he charges three roses or; to add to or represent on; as, he charges his shield with three roses or.

11. To call to account; to challenge. [Obs.] To charge me to an answer. Shak.

12. To bear down upon; to rush upon; to attack. Charged our main battle's front. Shak.

Syn. -- To intrust; command; exhort; instruct; accuse; impeach; arraign. See Accuse.

CHARGE Charge, v. i.

1. To make an onset or rush; as, to charge with fixed bayonets. Like your heroes of antiquity, he charges in iron. Glanvill. "Charge for the guns!" he said. Tennyson.

2. To demand a price; as, to charge high for goods.

3. To debit on an account; as, to charge for purchases.

4. To squat on its belly and be still; -- a command given by a sportsman to a dog.

CHARGE Charge, n. Etym: [F. charge, fr. charger to load. See Charge, v. t., and cf. Cargo, Caricature.]

1. A load or burder laid upon a person or thing.

2. A person or thing commited or intrusted to the care, custody, or management of another; a trust.

Note: The people of a parish or church are called the charge of the clergyman who is set over them.

3. Custody or care of any person, thing, or place; office; responsibility; oversight; obigation; duty. 'Tis a great charge to come under one body's hand. Shak.

4. Heed; care; anxiety; trouble. [Obs.] Chaucer.

5. Harm. [Obs.] Chaucer.

6. An order; a mandate or command; an injunction. The king gave cherge concerning Absalom. 2. Sam. xviii. 5.

7. An address (esp. an earnest or impressive address) containing instruction or exhortation; as, the charge of a judge to a jury; the charge of a bishop to his clergy.

8. An accusation of a wrong of offense; allegation; indictment; specification of something alleged. The charge of confounding very different classes of phenomena. Whewell.

9. Whatever constitutes a burden on property, as rents, taxes, lines, etc.; costs; expense incurred; -- usually in the plural.

10. The price demanded for a thing or service.

11. An entry or a account of that which is due from one party to another; that which is debited in a business transaction; as, a charge in an account book.

12. That quantity, as of ammunition, electricity, ore, fuel, etc., which any apparatus, as a gun, battery, furnace, machine, etc., is intended to receive and fitted to hold, or which is actually in it at one time

13. The act of rushing upon, or towards, an enemy; a sudden onset or attack, as of troops, esp. cavalry; hence, the signal for attack; as, to sound the charge. Never, in any other war afore, gave the Romans a hotter charge upon the enemies. Holland. The charge of the light brigade. Tennyson.

14. A position (of a weapon) fitted for attack; as, to bring a weapon to the charge.

15. (Far.)

Defn: A soft of plaster or ointment.

16. (Her.)

Defn: A bearing. See Bearing, n., 8.

17. Etym: [Cf. Charre.]

Defn: Thirty-six pigs of lead, each pig weighing about seventy pounds; -- called also charre.

18. Weight; import; value. Many suchlike "as's" of great charge. Shak. Back charge. See under Back, a. -- Bursting charge. (a (Mil.) The charge which bursts a shell, etc. (b (Mining) A small quantity of fine powder to secure the ignition of a charge of coarse powder in blasting. -- Charge and discharge (Equity Practice), the old mode or form of taking an account before a master in chancery. -- Charge sheet, the paper on which are entered at a police station all arrests and accusations. -- To sound the charge, to give the signal for an attack.

Syn. -- Care; custody; trust; management; office; expense; cost; price; assault; attack; onset; injunction; command; order; mandate; instruction; accusation; indictment.

CHARGEABLE Charge"a*ble, a.

1. That may be charged, laid, imposed, or imputes; as, a duty chargeable on iron; a fault chargeable on a man.

2. Subject to be charge or accused; liable or responsible; as, revenues chargeable with a claim; a man chargeable with murder.

3. Serving to create expense; costly; burdensome. That we might not be chargeable to any of you. 2. Thess. iii. 8. For the sculptures, which are elegant, were very chargeable. Evelyn.

CHARGEABLENESS Charge"a*ble*ness, n.

Defn: The quality of being chargeable or expensive. [Obs.] Whitelocke.

CHARGEABLY Charge"a*bly, adv.

Defn: At great cost; expensively. [Obs.]

CHARGEANT Char"geant, a. Etym: [F. chargeant, fr. charger to load.]

Defn: Burdensome; troublesome. [Obs.] Chaucer.

CHARGE D'AFFAIRES Char`gé" d'af`faires", n.; pl. Chargés d'affaires. Etym: [F., "charged with affairs."]

Defn: A diplomatic representative, or minister of an inferior grade, accredited by the government of one state to the minister of foreign affairs of another; also, a substitute, ad interim, for an ambassador or minister plenipotentiary.

CHARGEFUL Charge"ful, a.

Defn: Costly; expensive. [Obs.] The fineness of the gold and chargeful fashion. Shak.

CHARGEHOUSE Charge"house`, n.

Defn: A schoolhouse. [Obs.]

CHARGELESS Charge"less, a.

Defn: Free from, or with little, charge.

CHARGEOUS Char"geous, a.

Defn: Burdensome. [Obs.] I was chargeous to no man. Wyclif, (2 Cor. xi. 9).

CHARGER Char"ger, n.

1. One who, or that which charges.

2. An instrument for measuring or inserting a charge.

3. A large dish. [Obs.] Give me here John Baptist's head in a charger. Matt. xiv. 8.

4. A horse for battle or parade. Macaulay. And furious every charger neighed. Campbell.

CHARGESHIP Char*ge"ship, n.

Defn: The office of a chargé d'affaires.

CHARILY Char"i*ly, adv.

Defn: In a chary manner; carefully; cautiously; frugally.

CHARINESS Char"i*ness, n.

Defn: The quality of being chary.

CHARIOT Char"i*ot, n. Etym: [F. Chariot, from char car. See Car.]

1. (Antiq.)

Defn: A two-wheeled car or vehicle for war, racing, state processions, etc. First moved the chariots, after whom the foot. Cowper.

2. A four-wheeled pleasure or state carriage, having one seat. Shak.

CHARIOT Char"i*ot, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Charioted; p. pr. & vb. n. Charioting.]

Defn: To convey in a chariot. Milton.

CHARIOTEE Char`i*ot*ee", n.

Defn: A light, covered, four-wheeled pleasure carriage with two seats.

CHARIOTEER Char`i*ot*eer", n.

1. One who drives a chariot.

2. (Astron.)

Defn: A constellation. See Auriga, and Wagones.

CHARISM Cha"rism, n. Etym: [Gr. .] (Eccl.)

Defn: A miraculously given power, as of healing, speaking foreign languages without instruction, etc., attributed to some of the early Christians.

CHARISMATIC Char`is*mat"ic, a.

Defn: Of or pertaining to a charism.

CHARITABLE Char"i*ta*ble, a.Etym: [F. See Charity.]

1. Full of love and good will; benevolent; kind. Be thy intents wicked or charitable, . . . . . . I will speak to thee. Shak.

2. Liberal in judging of others; disposed to look on the best side, and to avoid harsh judgment.

3. Liberal in benefactions to the poor; giving freely; generous; beneficent. What charitable men afford to beggars. Shak.

4. Of or pertaining to charity; springing from, or intended for, charity; relating to almsgiving; elemosynary; as, a charitable institution.

5. Dictated by kindness; favorable; lenient. By a charitable construction it may be a sermon. L. Andrews.

Syn. -- Kind; beneficent; benevolent; generous; lenient; forgiving; helpful; liberal; favorable; indulgent.

CHARITABLENESS Char"i*ta*ble*ness, n.

Defn: The quality of being charitable; the exercise of charity.

CHARITABLY Char"i*ta*bly, adv.

Defn: In a charitable manner.

CHARITY Char"i*ty, n.; pl. Charities. Etym: [F. charité fr. L. caritas dearness, high regard, love, from carus dear, costly, loved; asin to Skr. kam to wish, love, cf. Ir. cara a friend, W. caru to love. Cf. Caress.]

1. Love; universal benevolence; good will.

Defn: Now abideth faith, hope, charity, three; but the greatest of these is charity. 1. Cor. xiii. 13. They, at least, are little to be envied, in whose hearts the great charities . . . lie dead. Ruskin. With malice towards none, with charity for all. Lincoln.

2. Liberality in judging of men and their actions; a disposition which inclines men to put the best construction on the words and actions of others. The highest exercise of charity is charity towards the uncharitable. Buckminster.

3. Liberality to the poor and the suffering, to benevolent institutions, or to worthy causes; generosity. The heathen poet, in commending the charity of Dido to the Trojans, spake like a Christian. Dryden.

4. Whatever is bestowed gratuitously on the needy or suffering for their relief; alms; any act of kindness. She did ill then to refuse her a charity. L'Estrange.

5. A charitable institution, or a gift to create and support such an institution; as, Lady Margaret's charity.

6. pl. (Law)

Defn: Eleemosynary appointments [grants or devises] including relief of the poor or friendless, education, religious culture, and public institutions. The charities that soothe, and heal, and bless, Are scattered at the feet of man like flowers. Wordsworth. Sisters of Charity (R. C. Ch.), a sisterhood of religious women engaged in works of mercy, esp. in nursing the sick; -- a popular designation. There are various orders of the Sisters of Charity.

Syn. -- Love; benevolence; good will; affection; tenderness; beneficence; liberality; almsgiving.

CHARIVARI Cha*ri`va*ri", n. Etym: [F.]

Defn: A mock serenade of discordant noises, made with kettles, tin horns, etc., designed to annoy and insult.

Note: It was at first performed before the house of any person of advanced age who married a second time.

CHARK Chark, n. Etym: [Abbrev. fr. charcoal.]

Defn: Charcoal; a cinder. [Obs.] DeFoe.

CHARK Chark, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Charked.]

Defn: To burn to a coal; to char. [Obs.]

CHARLATAN Char"la*tan, n. Etym: [F. charlatan, fr. It. ciarlatano, fr. ciarlare to chartter, prate; of imitative origin; cf. It. zirlare to whistle like a thrush.]

Defn: One who prates much in his own favor, and makes unwarrantable pretensions; a quack; an impostor; an empiric; a mountebank.

CHARLATANIC; CHARLATANICAL Char`la*tan"ic, Char`la*tan"ic*al, a.

Defn: Of or like a charlatan; making undue pretension; empirical; pretentious; quackish. -- Char`la*tan"ic*al*ly, adv.

CHARLATANISM Char"la*tan*ism, n. Etym: [Cf. F. charlatanisme.]

Defn: Charlatanry.

CHARLATANRY Char"la*tan*ry, n. Etym: [F. charlatanrie, from It. ciarlataneria. See Charlatan.]

Defn: Undue pretensions to skill; quackery; wheedling; empiricism.

CHARLES'S WAIN Charles's Wain. Etym: [Charles + wain; cf. AS. Carles w (for wægn), Sw. karlvagnen, Dan. karlsvogn. See Churl, and Wain.] (Astron.)

Defn: The group of seven stars, commonly called the Dipper, in the constellation Ursa Major, or Great Bear. See Ursa major, under Ursa.

Note: The name is sometimes also applied to the Constellation.

CHARLIE Char"lie, n.

1. A familiar nickname or substitute for Charles.

2. A night watchman; -- an old name.

3. A short, pointed beard, like that worn by Charles I.

4. As a proper name, a fox; -- so called in fables and familiar literature.

CHARLOCK Char"lock, n. Etym: [AS. cerlic; the latter part perh. fr. AS. leác leek. Cf. Hemlock.] (Bot.)

Defn: A cruciferous plant (Brassica sinapistrum) with yellow flowers; wild mustard. It is troublesome in grain fields. Called also chardock, chardlock, chedlock, and kedlock. Jointed charlock, White charlock, a troublesome weed (Raphanus Raphanistrum) with straw- colored, whitish, or purplish flowers, and jointed pods: wild radish.

CHARLOTTE Char"lotte, n. Etym: [F.]

Defn: A kind of pie or pudding made by lining a dish with slices of bread, and filling it with bread soaked in milk, and baked. Charlotte Russe (, or Charlotte à la russe Etym: [F., lit., Russian charlotte] (Cookery), a dish composed of custard or whipped cream, inclosed in sponge cake.

CHARM Charm, n. Etym: [F. charme, fr. L. carmen song, verse, incantation, for casmen, akin to Skr. çasman, çasa, a laudatory song, from a root signifying to praise, to sing.]

1. A melody; a song. [Obs.] With charm of earliest birds. Milton. Free liberty to chant our charms at will. Spenser.

2. A word or combination of words sung or spoken in the practice of magic; a magical combination of words, characters, etc.; an incantation. My high charms work. Shak.

3. That which exerts an irresistible power to please and attract; that which fascinates; any alluring quality. Charms strike the sight, but merit wins the soul. Pope. The charm of beauty's powerful glance. Milton.

4. Anything worn for its supposed efficacy to the wearer in averting ill or securing good fortune.

5. Any small decorative object worn on the person, as a seal, a key, a silver whistle, or the like. Bunches of charms are often worn at the watch chain.

Syn. - Spell; incantation; conjuration; enchantment; fascination; attraction.

CHARM Charm, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Charmed; p. pr. & vb. n. Charming.] Etym: [Cf. F. charmer. See Charm, n.]

1. To make music upon; to tune. [Obs. & R.] Here we our slender pipes may safely charm. Spenser.

2. To subdue, control, or summon by incantation or supernatural influence; to affect by magic. No witchcraft charm thee! Shak.

3. To subdue or overcome by some secret power, or by that which gives pleasure; to allay; to soothe. Music the fiercest grief can charm. Pope.

4. To attract irresistibly; to delight exceedingly; to enchant; to fascinate. They, on their mirth and dance Intent, with jocund music charm his ear. Milton.

5. To protect with, or make invulnerable by, spells, charms, or supernatural influences; as, a charmed life. I, in my own woe charmed, Could not find death. Shak.

Syn. - To fascinate; enchant; enrapture; captivate; bewitch; allure; subdue; delight; entice; transport.

CHARM Charm, v. i.

1. To use magic arts or occult power; to make use of charms. The voice of charmers, charming never so wisely. Ps. lviii. 5.

2. To act as, or produce the effect of, a charm; to please greatly; to be fascinating.

3. To make a musical sound. [Obs.] Milton.

CHARMEL Char"mel, n. Etym: [Heb.]

Defn: A fruitful field. Libanus shall be turned into charmel, and charmel shall be esteemed as a forest. Isa. xxix. 17 (Douay version).

CHARMER Charm"er, n.

1. One who charms, or has power to charm; one who uses the power of enchantment; a magician. Deut. xviii. 11.

2. One who delights and attracts the affections.

CHARMERESS Charm"er*ess, n.

Defn: An enchantress. Chaucer.

CHARMFUL Charm"ful, a.

Defn: Abounding with charms. "His charmful lyre." Cowley.

CHARMING Charm"ing, a.

Defn: Pleasing the mind or senses in a high degree; delighting; fascinating; attractive. How charming is divine philosophy. Milton.

Syn. - Enchanting; bewitching; captivating; enrapturing; alluring; fascinating; delightful; pleasurable; graceful; lovely; amiable; pleasing; winning. -- Charm"ing*ly, adv. -- Charm"ing*ness, n.

CHARMLESS Charm"less, a.

Defn: Destitute of charms. Swift.

CHARNECO; CHARNICO Char"ne*co, Char"ni*co, n.

Defn: A sort of sweet wine. [Obs.] Shak.

CHARNEL Char"nel, a. Etym: [F. charnel carnal, fleshly, fr. L. carnalis. See Carnal.]

Defn: Containing the bodies of the dead. "Charnel vaults." Milton. Charnel house, a tomb, vault, cemetery, or other place where the bones of the dead are deposited; originally, a place for the bones thrown up when digging new graves in old burial grounds.

CHARNEL Char"nel, n.

Defn: A charnel house; a grave; a cemetery. In their proud charnel of Thermopylæ. Byron.

CHARON Cha"ron, n. Etym: [L., fr. Gr. (Cless. Myth.)

Defn: The son of Erebus and Nox, whose office it was to ferry the souls of the dead over the Styx, a river of the infernal regions. Shak.

CHARPIE Char"pie, n. Etym: [F., properly fem. p. p. of OF. charpir, carpir, to pluck, fr. L. carpere. Cf. Carpet.] (Med.)

Defn: Straight threads obtained by unraveling old linen cloth; -- used for surgical dressings.

CHARQUI Char"qui, n. Etym: [Sp. A term used in South America, Central America, and the Western United States.]

Defn: Jerked beef; beef cut into long strips and dried in the wind and sun. Darwin.

CHARR Charr, n.

Defn: See 1st Char.

CHARRAS Char"ras, n.

Defn: The gum resin of the hemp plant (Cannabis sativa). Same as Churrus. Balfour.

CHARRE Charre, n. Etym: [LL. charrus a certain weight.]

Defn: See Charge, n., 17.

CHARRY Char"ry, a. Etym: [See 6th Char.]

Defn: Pertaining to charcoal, or partaking of its qualities.

CHART Chart, n. Etym: [A doublet of card: cf. F. charte charter, carte card. See Card, and cf. Charter.]

1. A sheet of paper, pasteboard, or the like, on which information is exhibited, esp. when the information is arranged in tabular form; as, an historical chart.

2. A map; esp., a hydrographic or marine map; a map on which is projected a portion of water and the land which it surrounds, or by which it is surrounded, intended especially for the use of seamen; as, the United States Coast Survey charts; the English Admiralty charts.

3. A written deed; a charter. Globular chart, a chart constructed on a globular projection. See under Globular. -- Heliographic chart, a map of the sun with its spots. -- Mercator's chart, a chart constructed on the principle of Mercator's projection. See Projection. -- Plane chart, a representation of some part of the superficies of the globe, in which its spherical form is disregarded, the meridians being drawn parallel to each other, and the parallels of latitude at equal distances. -- Selenographic chart, a map representing the surface of the moon. -- Topographic chart, a minute delineation of a limited place or region.

CHART Chart, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Charted.]

Defn: To lay down in a chart; to map; to delineate; as, to chart a coast.

CHARTA Char"ta, n. Etym: [L., leaf of paper. See Chart.] (Law) (a) Material on which instruments, books, etc., are written; parchment or paper. (b) A charter or deed; a writing by which a grant is made. See Magna Charta.

CHARTACEOUS Char*ta"ceous, a. Etym: [L. chartaceus. See Charta.]

Defn: Resembling paper or parchment; of paper-like texture; papery.

CHARTE Charte, n. Etym: [F. See Chart.]

Defn: The constitution, or fundamental law, of the French monarchy, as established on the restoration of Louis XVIII., in 1814.

CHARTER Char"ter, n. Etym: [OF. chartre, F. chartre, charte, fr. L. chartula a little paper, dim. of charta. See Chart, Card.]

1. A written evidence in due form of things done or granted, contracts made, etc., between man and man; a deed, or conveyance. [Archaic]

2. An instrument in writing, from the sovereign power of a state or country, executed in due form, bestowing rights, franchises, or privileges. The king [John, a.d. 1215], with a facility somewhat suspicious, signed and sealed the charter which was required of him. This famous deed, commonly called the "Great Charter," either granted or secured very important liberties and privileges to every order of men in the kingdom. Hume.

3. An act of a legislative body creating a municipal or other corporation and defining its powers and privileges. Also, an instrument in writing from the constituted authorities of an order or society (as the Freemasons), creating a lodge and defining its powers.

4. A special privilege, immunity, or exemption. My mother, Who has a charter to extol her blood, When she does praise me, grieves me. Shak.

5. (Com.)