Link Centre Dictionary

char

UK/ˈkæɹ/ US/t͡ʃɑː/ uncommon obsolete uk
noun (3) verb (2)

noun

1.
2.
3.

any of several small-scaled trout

verb

1.

burn to charcoal

  • “Without a drenching rain, the forest fire will char everything”
Synonyms
2.

burn slightly and superficially so as to affect color

  • “The cook blackened the chicken breast”
  • “The fire charred the ceiling above the mantelpiece”
  • “the flames scorched the ceiling”
Synonyms

Origin

From Middle English cherre (“odd job”), from Old English ċierr (“a turn, change, time, occasion, affair, business”), from ċierran (“to turn, change, turn oneself, go, come, proceed, turn back, return, regard, translate, persuade, convert, be converted, agree to, submit, make to submit, reduce”), from Proto-Germanic *karzijaną (“to turn”), possibly from Proto-Indo-European *gers- (“to bend, turn”). Cognate with Dutch keer (“a time, turn, occasion”), German Kehre (“a turn, bight, bend”) and kehren (“to sweep”) or umkehren (“to return or reverse”). More at chore, ajar.

Phrases

  • char up
  • signed char
  • unsigned char

Related words

Word family

Broader terms

Narrower terms

Parts

WordNet 2.1 (Princeton University). Wiktionary (CC BY-SA). CMU Pronouncing Dictionary. WordNet 2.1 Copyright Princeton University. All rights reserved. Wiktionary content is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike Licence.