Loading earlier words…
Chamaeleon

a small constellation in the southern skies between Hydrus and Musca.

Chamaeleontidae Chamaeleonidae

a natural family comprising the Old World chameleons; in some classifications Rhiptoglossa is considered a superfamily of Sauria.

Chamaemelum

a small genus of plants sometimes included in genus Anthemis; chamomile.

chamaephyte

a perennial plant that sets its dormant vegetative buds just at or above the surface of the ground.

Chamal

The Angora goat. See Angora goat, under Angora.

Chamber

To shut up, as in a chamber.

Chambered

Having a chamber or chambers; as, a chambered shell; a chambered gun.

Chamberer

One who attends in a chamber; a chambermaid.

Chamberlain

An officer or servant who has charge of a chamber or chambers.

Chambermaid

A maidservant who has the care of chambers, making the beds, sweeping, cleaning the rooms, etc.

Chambertin

A red wine from Chambertin near Dijon, in Burgundy.

Chambranle

An ornamental bordering or framelike decoration around the sides and top of a door, window, or fireplace. The top piece is called the traverse and the side pieces the ascendants.

Chambray

A gingham woven in plain colors with linen finish.

Chameck

A kind of spider monkey (Ateles chameck), having the thumbs rudimentary and without a nail.

Chameleon

A lizardlike reptile of the genus Cham/leo, of several species, found in Africa, Asia, and Europe. The skin is covered with fine granulations; it has eyes which can move separately, the tail is prehensile, and the body is much compressed laterally, giving it a high back. It is remarkable for its ability to change the color of its skin to blend with its surroundings.

Chamfer

The surface formed by cutting away the arris, or angle, formed by two faces of a piece of timber, stone, etc.

Chamfret

A small gutter; a furrow; a groove.

Chamfron

The frontlet, or head armor, of a horse.

Chamisal

A California rosaceous shrub (Adenostoma fasciculatum) which often forms an impenetrable chaparral.

Chamois

A small species of antelope (Rupicapra tragus), living on the loftiest mountain ridges of Europe, as the Alps, Pyrenees, etc. It possesses remarkable agility, and is a favorite object of chase.

Chamomile Camomile

A genus of herbs (Anthemis) of the Composite family. The common camomile, Anthemis nobilis, is used as a popular remedy. Its flowers have a strong and fragrant and a bitter, aromatic taste. They are tonic, febrifugal, and in large doses emetic, and the volatile oil is carminative.

chamosite

a greenish gray or black silicate of iron and aluminum.

Champ

To bite or chew impatiently.

Champagne

A light wine, of several kinds, originally made in the province of Champagne, in France.

Champe Champ

The field or ground on which carving appears in relief.

Champertor

One guilty of champerty; one who purchases a suit, or the right of suing, and carries it on at his own expense, in order to obtain a share of the gain.

Champerty

Partnership in power; equal share of authority.

Champignon

An edible species of mushroom (Agaricus campestris).

Champion

One who engages in any contest; especially one who in ancient times contended in single combat in behalf of another's honor or rights; or one who now acts or speaks in behalf of a person or a cause; a defender; an advocate; a hero.

Champleve

Having the ground engraved or cut out in the parts to be enameled; inlaid in depressions made in the ground; -- said of a kind of enamel work in which depressions made in the surface are filled with enamel pastes, which are afterward fired; also, designating the process of making such enamel work. A piece of champlev/ enamel; also, the process or art of making such enamel work; champlev/ work.

chanar

a thorny shrub or small tree (Geoffroea decorticans) common in central Argentina having small orange or yellow flowers followed by edible berries.

Chance-medley

The killing of another in self-defense upon a sudden and unpremeditated encounter. See Chaud-Medley.

Chancel

That part of a church, reserved for the use of the clergy, where the altar, or communion table, is placed. All that part of a cruciform church which is beyond the line of the transept farthest from the main front.

Chancellor

A judicial court of chancery, which in England and in the United States is distinctively a court with equity jurisdiction.

Chancellorship

The office of a chancellor; the time during which one is chancellor.

Chancery

In England, formerly, the highest court of judicature next to the Parliament, exercising jurisdiction at law, but chiefly in equity; but under the jurisdiction act of 1873 it became the chancery division of the High Court of Justice, and now exercises jurisdiction only in equity.

Chancre

A venereal sore or ulcer; specifically, the initial lesion of true syphilis, whether forming a distinct ulcer or not; -- called also hard chancre, indurated chancre, and Hunterian chancre.

Chancroid

A venereal sore, resembling a chancre in its seat and some external characters, but differing from it in being the starting point of a purely local process and never of a systemic disease; -- called also soft chancre.

Chancrous

Of the nature of a chancre; having chancre.

Chandelier

A candlestick, lamp, stand, gas fixture, or the like, having several branches; esp., one hanging from the ceiling.

chandelle

to perform a chandelle, as of an airplane.

Chandi

the malevolent aspect of Devi: "the fierce".

Chandoo

An extract or preparation of opium, used in China and India for smoking.

Chanfrin

The fore part of a horse's head.

Changan

the capital of the ancient Chinese empire.

Change

Any variation or alteration; a passing from one state or form to another; as, a change of countenance; a change of habits or principles.

change-of-pace

a baseball pitch thrown with little velocity when the batter is expecting a fastball; -- called also change-up.

change-ringing

ringing tuned bells in a fixed order that is continually changing. See change{9}, n.

Changeable

Capable of change; subject to alteration; mutable; variable; fickle; inconstant; as, a changeable humor.

Changeableness

The quality of being changeable; fickleness; inconstancy; mutability.

Changeful

Full of change; mutable; inconstant; fickle; uncertain.

Changeless

That can not be changed; constant; as, a changeless purpose.

Changeling

Taken or left in place of another; changed.

changeover

an event that results in a transformation.

Changer

One who changes or alters the form of anything.

Chank

The East Indian name for the large spiral shell of several species of sea conch much used in making bangles, esp. Turbinella pyrum. Called also chank shell.

Channel

To form a channel in; to cut or wear a channel or channels in; to groove.

Channeling

The act or process of forming a channel or channels.

Chantant

Composed in a melodious and singing style.

Chanter

One who chants; a singer or songster.

Chanterelle

A name for several species of mushroom, of which one (Cantharellus cibrius) is edible, the others reputed poisonous.

Chanticleer

A cock, so called from the clearness or loudness of his voice in crowing.

Chanting

Singing, esp. as a chant is sung.

Chantry

An endowment or foundation for the chanting of masses and offering of prayers, commonly for the founder.

Chanuka

same as Hanukka; -- a variant spelling.

Chaomancy

Divination by means of appearances in the air.

Chaos

An empty, immeasurable space; a yawning chasm.

Chap

To bargain; to buy.

Chaparajos

Overalls of sheepskin or leather, usually open at the back, worn, esp. by cowboys, to protect the legs from thorny bushes, as in the chaparral; -- called also chapareras or colloq. chaps.

chapatti chapati

a flat pancakelike bread cooked on a griddle, originating in India.

Chapbook

Any small book carried about for sale by chapmen or hawkers. Hence, any small book; a toy book.

Chape

The piece by which an object is attached to something, as the frog of a scabbard or the metal loop at the back of a buckle by which it is fastened to a strap.

Chapeau

A hat or covering for the head.

Chaped

Furnished with a chape or chapes.

Chapel

To deposit or inter in a chapel; to enshrine.

Chapelet

A pair of straps, with stirrups, joined at the top and fastened to the pommel or the frame of the saddle, after they have been adjusted to the convenience of the rider.

Chapellany

A chapel within the jurisdiction of a church; a subordinate ecclesiastical foundation.

Chapelry

The territorial district legally assigned to a chapel.

Chaperon

To attend in public places as a guide and protector; to matronize.

Chaperonage

Attendance of a chaperon on a lady in public; protection afforded by a chaperon.

Chapfallen

Having the lower chap or jaw drooping, -- an indication of humiliation and dejection; crestfallen; discouraged. See Chopfallen.

Chaplain

An ecclesiastic who has a chapel, or who performs religious service in a chapel.

Chaplaincy

The office, position, or station of a chaplain.

Loading more words…