Characterization Char`acˇterˇiˇza"tion noun The act or process of characterizing.

Characterize Char"acˇterˇize transitive verb [ imperfect & past participle Characterized ; present participle & verbal noun Characterizing .] [ Late Latin characterizare , Greek ...: confer French charactériser .] 1. To make distinct and recognizable by peculiar marks or traits; to make with distinctive features.

European, Asiatic, Chinese, African, and Grecian faces are Characterized .
Arbuthnot.

2. To engrave or imprint. [ Obsolete] Sir M. Hale.

3. To indicate the character of; to describe.

Under the name of Tamerlane he intended to characterize King William.
Johnson.

4. To be a characteristic of; to make, or express the character of.

The softness and effeminacy which characterize the men of rank in most countries.
W. Irving.

Syn. -- To describe; distinguish; mark; designate; style; particularize; entitle.

Characterless Char"acˇterˇless adjective Destitute of any distinguishing quality; without character or force.

Charactery Char"acˇterˇy noun 1. The art or means of characterizing; a system of signs or characters; symbolism; distinctive mark.

Fairies use flowers for their charactery .
Shak.

2. That which is charactered; the meaning. [ Obsolete]

I will construe to thee
All the charactery of my sad brows.
Shak.

Charade Chaˇrade" noun [ French charade , confer Pr. charrada long chat, It ciarlare to chat, whence English charlatan .] A verbal or acted enigma based upon a word which has two or more significant syllables or parts, each of which, as well as the word itself, is to be guessed from the descriptions or representations.

Charbocle Char"boˇcle noun Carbuncle. [ Written also Charboncle .] [ Obsolete] Chaucer.

Charbon Char"bon noun [ French, coal, charbon.] 1. (Far.) A small black spot or mark remaining in the cavity of the corner tooth of a horse after the large spot or mark has become obliterated.

2. A very contagious and fatal disease of sheep, horses, and cattle. See Maligmant pustule .

Charcoal Char"coal` noun [ See Char , transitive verb , 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 Chard (chärd) noun [ Confer French 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 Chare (châr) noun A narrow street. [ Prov. Eng.]

Chare Chare noun & v. A chore; to chore; to do. See Char .

Charge Charge (chärj) transitive verb [ imperfect & past participle Charged (chärjd); present participle & verbal noun Charging .] [ Old French chargier , French charger , from Late Latin carricare , from Latin carrus wagon. Confer 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. [ Obsolete]

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 Charge intransitive verb 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 Charge noun [ French charge , from charger to load. See Charge , transitive verb , and confer 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.

» 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. [ Obsolete] Chaucer.

5. Harm. [ Obsolete] 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 , noun , 8.

17. [ Confer 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 , adjective -- 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.

Chargé d'affaires Char`gé" d'af`faires" noun ; plural Chargés d'affaires . [ French, "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.

Chargeable Charge"aˇble adjective 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.

Chargeableness Charge"aˇbleˇness noun The quality of being chargeable or expensive. [ Obsolete] Whitelocke.

Chargeably Charge"aˇbly adverb At great cost; expensively. [ Obsolete]

Chargeant Char"geant adjective [ French chargeant , from charger to load.] Burdensome; troublesome. [ Obsolete] Chaucer.

Chargeful Charge"ful adjective Costly; expensive. [ Obsolete]

The fineness of the gold and chargeful fashion.
Shak.

Chargehouse Charge"house` noun A schoolhouse. [ Obsolete]

Chargeless Charge"less adjective Free from, or with little, charge.

Chargeous Char"geous adjective Burdensome. [ Obsolete]

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

Charger Char"ger noun 1. One who, or that which charges.

2. An instrument for measuring or inserting a charge.

3. A large dish. [ Obsolete]

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.

Chargeship Charˇge"ship noun The office of a chargé d'affaires .

Charily Char"iˇly adverb In a chary manner; carefully; cautiously; frugally.

Chariness Char"iˇness noun The quality of being chary.

Chariot Char"iˇot noun [ French 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.

Chariot Char"iˇot transitive verb [ imperfect & past participle Charioted ; present participle & verbal noun Charioting .] To convey in a chariot. Milton.

Chariotee Char`iˇotˇee" noun A light, covered, four-wheeled pleasure carriage with two seats.

Charioteer Char`iˇotˇeer" noun

1. One who drives a chariot.

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

Charism Cha"rism noun [ Greek ... gift .] (Eccl.) A miraculously given power, as of healing, speaking foreign languages without instruction, etc., attributed to some of the early Christians.

Charismatic Char`isˇmat"ic adjective Of or pertaining to a charism.

Charitable Char"iˇtaˇble adjective [ French 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.
Latin Andrews.

Syn. -- Kind; beneficent; benevolent; generous; lenient; forgiving; helpful; liberal; favorable; indulgent.

Charitableness Char"iˇtaˇbleˇness noun The quality of being charitable; the exercise of charity.

Charitably Char"iˇtaˇbly adverb In a charitable manner.

Charity Char"iˇty noun ; plural Charities . [ French charité from Latin caritas dearness, high regard, love, from carus dear, costly, loved; asin to Sanskrit kam to wish, love, confer Ir. cara a friend, W. caru to love. Confer 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. plural (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.

Charivari Chaˇri`vaˇri" noun [ French] A mock serenade of discordant noises, made with kettles, tin horns, etc., designed to annoy and insult.

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

Chark Chark noun [ Abbrev. from charcoal .] Charcoal; a cinder. [ Obsolete] DeFoe.

Chark Chark transitive verb [ imperfect & past participle Charked .] To burn to a coal; to char. [ Obsolete]

Charlatan Char"laˇtan noun [ French charlatan , from Italian ciarlatano , from ciarlare to chartter, prate; of imitative origin; confer Italian 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.

Charlatanic, Charlatanical Char`laˇtan"ic, Char`laˇtan"icˇal adjective Of or like a charlatan; making undue pretension; empirical; pretentious; quackish. -- Char`la*tan"ic*al*ly , adverb

Charlatanism Char"laˇtanˇism noun [ Confer French charlatanisme .] Charlatanry.

Charlatanry Char"laˇtanˇry noun [ French charlatanrie , from Italian ciarlataneria . See Charlatan .] Undue pretensions to skill; quackery; wheedling; empiricism.

Charles's Wain Charles's Wain [ Charles + wain ; confer Anglo-Saxon Carles w...n (for wćgn ), Swedish karlvagnen , Danish 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 .

» The name is sometimes also applied to the Constellation.

Charlie Char"lie noun 1. A familiar nickname or substitute for Charles .

2. A night watchman; -- an old name.

3. A short, pointed beard, like that worn by Charles I.

4. As a proper name, a fox; -- so called in fables and familiar literature.

Charlock Char"lock noun [ Anglo-Saxon cerlic ; the latter part perhaps from Anglo-Saxon leác leek. Confer Hemlock .] (Botany) 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.

Charlotte Char"lotte noun [ French] 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