char
3 
/tʃɑr/ 
Show Spelled Pronunciation [chahr] Show IPA noun, verb, charred, char⋅ring. Chiefly British –noun | 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. |
Origin: 1375–1425; late ME, OE
cerr, cierr turn, time, occasion, affair, deriv. of
cierran to turn
char 1 (chär)
v.
charred, char·ring, chars
v.
tr.
To burn the surface of; scorch. To reduce to carbon or charcoal by incomplete combustion.
v.
intr.
To become scorched. 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 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.
Cite This Source
Word Origin & History
char
1679, back-formation of
charcoal (q.v.).
