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Char

 - 11 dictionary results

char

1[chahr] verb, charred, char⋅ring, noun
–verb (used with object)
1. to burn or reduce to charcoal: The fire charred the paper.
2. to burn slightly; scorch: The flame charred the steak.
–verb (used without object)
3. to become charred.
–noun
4. a charred material or surface.
5. charcoal.
6. a superior carbon-rich fuel, a by-product of the conversion of coal into gaseous or liquid fuel.

Origin:
1670–80; appar. extracted from charcoal; see chark


2. singe, sear.

char

2[chahr]
–noun, plural (especially collectively) char, (especially referring to two or more kinds or species) chars.
any trout of the genus Salvelinus (or Cristovomer), esp. the Arctic char.

Origin:
1655–65; perh. OE *ceorra lit., turner, deriv. of ceorran to turn, it being thought of as swimming to and fro time and again; see char 3

char

3[chahr] noun, verb, charred, char⋅ring. Chiefly British
–noun
1. a charwoman.
2. a task, esp. a household chore.
3. chars, odd jobs, esp. of housework, for which one is paid by the hour or day.
–verb (used without object)
4. to work at housecleaning by the day or hour; hire oneself out to do odd jobs.
–verb (used with object)
5. to do (housework, odd jobs, or chores); clean or repair.
Also, chare.


Origin:
1375–1425; late ME, OE cerr, cierr turn, time, occasion, affair, deriv. of cierran to turn

char

4[chahr]
–noun British Informal.
tea.

Origin:
1915–20; < Hindi tea; for sp. with r cf. arvo, parcheesi

Char

[shar]
–noun
Re⋅né [ruh-ney] , 1907–1988, French poet.

char.

Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
Cite This Source Link To Char
char 1   (chär)   
v.   charred, char·ring, chars

v.   tr.
  1. To burn the surface of; scorch.

  2. To reduce to carbon or charcoal by incomplete combustion.

v.   intr.
  1. To become scorched.

  2. To become reduced to carbon or charcoal. See Synonyms at burn1.

n.  A substance that has been scorched, burned, or reduced to charcoal.

[Back-formation from charcoal.]
char 2 also charr   (chär)   
n.   pl. char or chars also charr or charrs
Any of several fishes of the genus Salvelinus, especially the arctic char, related to the trout and salmon.

[Origin unknown.]
char 3   (chär)   
n.  A charwoman.
intr.v.   charred, char·ring, chars
To work as a charwoman.

[Middle English, a piece of work, from Old English cierr, a turning.]
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Word Origin & History

char 
1679, back-formation of charcoal (q.v.).
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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Computing Dictionary

char programming
/keir/ or /char/; rarely, /kar/ character. Especially used by C programmers, as "char" is C's typename for character data.
[The Jargon File]
(1994-11-29)

The Free On-line Dictionary of Computing, © 1993-2007 Denis Howe
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