Chapter 29

Char"coal` (?), n. [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) 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 in 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 (chńrd), n. [Cf. F. carde esculent 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 (chÔr), n. A narrow street. [Prov. Eng.]

Chare, n. & v. A chore; to chore; to do. See Char.

Charge (chńrj), v. t. [imp. & p. p. Charged (chńrjd); p. pr. & vb. n. Charging.] [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, fling away ambition. Shak.

3. To lay on, impose, or make subject to or liable for.

When land shall be charged by any lien. Kent.

4. To fix or demand as a price; as, he charges two dollars a barrel 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 sloth 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 he did that wrong you charge him 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.) 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 (?), 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 (?), n. [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.

&fist; 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.) A sort of plaster or ointment.

16. (Her.) A bearing. See Bearing, n., 8.

17. [Cf. Charre.] 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.

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.

Charge"a*ble*ness, n. The quality of being chargeable or expensive. [Obs.] Whitelocke.

Charge"a*bly (?), adv. At great cost; expensively. [Obs.]

Char"geant (?), a. [F. chargeant, fr. charger to load.] Burdensome; troublesome. [Obs.] Chaucer.

||Char`gÚ" d'af`faires" (?), n.; pl. ChargÚs d'affaires. [F., "charged with affairs."] 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.

Charge"ful (?), a. Costly; expensive. [Obs.]

The fineness of the gold and chargeful fashion. Shak.

Charge"house` (?), n. A schoolhouse. [Obs.]

Charge"less, a. Free from, or with little, charge.

Char"geous (?), a. Burdensome. [Obs.]

I was chargeous to no man. Wyclif, (2 Cor. xi. 9).

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.

Char*ge"ship (?), n. The office of a chargÚ d'affaires.

Char"i*ly (?), adv. In a chary manner; carefully; cautiously; frugally.

Char"i*ness, n. The quality of being chary.

Char"i*ot (?), n. [F. Chariot, from char car. See Car.] 1. (Antiq.) 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.

Char"i*ot, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Charioted; p. pr. & vb. n. Charioting.] To convey in a chariot. Milton.

Char`i*ot*ee" (?), n. A light, covered, four-wheeled pleasure carriage with two seats.

Char`i*ot*eer" (?), n.

1. One who drives a chariot.

2. (Astron.) A constellation. See Auriga, and Wagones.

Cha"rism (?), n. [Gr. &?; gift.] (Eccl.) A miraculously given power, as of healing, speaking foreign languages without instruction, etc., attributed to some of the early Christians.

Char`is*mat"ic (?), a. Of or pertaining to a charism.

Char"i*ta*ble (?), a.[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; eleemosynary; 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.

Char"i*ta*ble*ness, n. The quality of being charitable; the exercise of charity.

Char"i*ta*bly, adv. In a charitable manner.

Char"i*ty (?), n.; pl. Charities (#). [F. charitÚ 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.

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) 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.

||Cha*ri`va*ri" (?), n. [F.] A mock serenade of discordant noises, made with kettles, tin horns, etc., designed to annoy and insult.

&fist; It was at first performed before the house of any person of advanced age who married a second time.

Chark (?), n. [Abbrev. fr. charcoal.] Charcoal; a cinder. [Obs.] DeFoe.

Chark, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Charked (?).] To burn to a coal; to char. [Obs.]

Char"la*tan (?), n. [F. charlatan, fr. It. ciarlatano, fr. ciarlare to chartter, prate; of imitative origin; cf. It. zirlare to whistle like a thrush.] One who prates much in his own favor, and makes unwarrantable pretensions; a quack; an impostor; an empiric; a mountebank.

{ Char`la*tan"ic (?), Char`la*tan"ic*al (?), } a. Of or like a charlatan; making undue pretension; empirical; pretentious; quackish. -- Char`la*tan"ic*al*ly, adv.

Char"la*tan*ism (?), n. [Cf. F. charlatanisme.] Charlatanry.

Char"la*tan*ry (?), n. [F. charlatanrie, from It. ciarlataneria. See Charlatan.] Undue pretensions to skill; quackery; wheedling; empiricism.

Charles's Wain (?). [Charles + wain; cf. AS. Carles w&?;n (for wŠgn), Sw. karlvagnen, Dan. karlsvogn. See Churl, and Wain.] (Astron.) The group of seven stars, commonly called the Dipper, in the constellation Ursa Major, or Great Bear. See Ursa major, under Ursa.

&fist; The name is sometimes also applied to the Constellation.

Char"lock (?), n. [AS. cerlic; the latter part perh. fr. AS. leßc leek. Cf. Hemlock.] (Bot.) 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.

Char"lotte (?), n. [F.] 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 Ó la russe [F., lit., Russian charlotte] (Cookery), a dish composed of custard or whipped cream, inclosed in sponge cake.

Charm (chńrm), n. [F. charme, fr. L. carmen song, verse, incantation, for casmen, akin to Skr. šasman, šasā, 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, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Charmed (?); p. pr. & vb. n. Charming.] [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, 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.

||Char"mel (?), n. [Heb.] A fruitful field.

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

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.

Charm"er*ess (?), n. An enchantress. Chaucer.

Charm"ful (?), a. Abounding with charms. "His charmful lyre." Cowley.

Charm"ing, a. 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.

Charm"less, a. Destitute of charms. Swift.

{ Char"ne*co, Char"ni*co (?) }, n. A sort of sweet wine. [Obs.] Shak.

Char"nel (?), a. [F. charnel carnal, fleshly, fr. L. carnalis. See Carnal.] 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.

Char"nel, n. A charnel house; a grave; a cemetery.

In their proud charnel of ThermopylŠ. Byron.

Cha"ron (?), n. [L., fr. Gr. &?;.] (Cless. Myth.) 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.

||Char"pie (?), n. [F., properly fem. p. p. of OF. charpir, carpir, to pluck, fr. L. carpere. Cf. Carpet.] (Med.) Straight threads obtained by unraveling old linen cloth; -- used for surgical dressings.

||Char"qui (?), n. [Sp. A term used in South America, Central America, and the Western United States.] Jerked beef; beef cut into long strips and dried in the wind and sun. Darwin.

Charr (?), n. See 1st Char.

||Char"ras (?), n. The gum resin of the hemp plant (Cannabis sativa). Same as Churrus. Balfour.

Charre (?), n. [LL. charrus a certain weight.] See Charge, n., 17.

Char"ry (?), a. [See 6th Char.] Pertaining to charcoal, or partaking of its qualities.

Chart (?), n. [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, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Charted.] To lay down in a chart; to map; to delineate; as, to chart a coast.

||Char"ta (?), n. [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.

Char*ta"ceous (?), a. [L. chartaceus. See Charta.] Resembling paper or parchment; of paper-like texture; papery.

||Charte (?), n. [F. See Chart.] The constitution, or fundamental law, of the French monarchy, as established on the restoration of Louis XVIII., in 1814.

Char"ter (?), n. [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.) The letting or hiring a vessel by special contract, or the contract or instrument whereby a vessel is hired or let; as, a ship is offered for sale or charter. See Charter party, below.

Charter land (O. Eng. Law), land held by charter, or in socage; bookland. -- Charter member, one of the original members of a society or corporation, esp. one named in a charter, or taking part in the first proceedings under it. -- Charter party [F. chartre partie, or charte partie, a divided charter; from the practice of cutting the instrument of contract in two, and giving one part to each of the contractors] (Com.), a mercantile lease of a vessel; a specific contract by which the owners of a vessel let the entire vessel, or some principal part of the vessel, to another person, to be used by the latter in transportation for his own account, either under their charge or his. -- People's Charter (Eng. Hist.), the document which embodied the demands made by the Chartists, so called, upon the English government in 1838.

Char"ter, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Chartered (?); p. pr. & vb. n. Chartering.] 1. To establish by charter.

2. To hire or let by charter, as a ship. See Charter party, under Charter, n.

Char"tered (?), a. 1. Granted or established by charter; having, or existing under, a charter; having a privilege by charter.

The sufficiency of chartered rights. Palfrey.

The air, a chartered libertine. Shak.

2. Hired or let by charter, as a ship.

Char"ter*er (?), n. One who charters; esp. one who hires a ship for a voyage.

Char"ter*house` (?), n. A well known public school and charitable foundation in the building once used as a Carthusian monastery (Chartreuse) in London.

Char"ter*ist, n. Same as Chartist.

Chart"ism (?), n. [F. charte charter. Cf. Charte, Chart.] The principles of a political party in England (1838-48), which contended for universal suffrage, the vote by ballot, annual parliaments, equal electoral districts, and other radical reforms, as set forth in a document called the People's Charter.

Chart"ist (?), n. A supporter or partisan of chartism. [Eng.]

Chart"less, a. 1. Without a chart; having no guide.

2. Not mapped; uncharted; vague. Barlow.

Char*tog"ra*pher (?), n., Char`to*graph"ic (&?;), a., Char*tog"ra*phy (&?;), n., etc. Same as Cartographer, Cartographic, Cartography, etc.