[chad] 
| a small paper disk or square formed when a hole is punched in a punch card or paper tape. |
[chad] | 1. | Lake, a lake in Africa at the junction of four countries: Cameroon, Chad, Niger, and Nigeria. 5000 to 10,000 sq. mi. (13,000 to 26,000 sq. km) (seasonal variation). |
| 2. | Official name, Republic of Chad. a republic in N central Africa, E of Lake Chad: a member of the French Community; formerly part of French Equatorial Africa. 7,166,023; 501,000 sq. mi. (1,297,590 sq. km). Capital: N'Djamena. |
| 3. | Chadic. |
| 4. | a male given name. |
| chad (chād) n.
[Origin unknown.] |
Chad (chād)  (click for larger image in new window) A country of north-central Africa. Once part of French Equatorial Africa, it became independent in 1960. N'Djamena is the capital and the largest city. Population: 9,890,000. Chad'i·an adj. & n. |
| Chad, Lake A shallow lake of north-central Africa in Chad, Cameroon, Niger, and Nigeria. It was first explored by Europeans in 1823. |
Landlocked desert republic in north-central Africa, bordered by Sudan to the east; the Central African Republic to the south; Cameroon, Niger, and Nigeria to the west; and Libya to the north. N'Djamena is its capital and largest city.
Note: Chad was under French control until 1960.
chad jargon, printer
/chad/ (Or "selvage" /sel'v*j/ (sewing and weaving), "perf", "perfory", "snaf"). 1. The perforated edge strips on paper for sprocket feed printers, after they have been separated from the printed portion.
The term perf may also refer to the perforations themselves, rather than the chad they produce when torn.
[Why "snaf"?]
2. (Or "chaff", "computer confetti", "keypunch droppings") The confetti-like bits punched out of punched cards or paper tape which collected in the chad box.
One of the Jargon File's correspondents believed that "chad" derived from the chadless keypunch.
[The Jargon File]
(1997-07-18)