chaff at CMU American English spelling Of Explained:
[tʃæf]
chaff at English => English (English Etymology) Of Explained:
O.E. ceaf, from P.Gmc. *kaf-, *kef-. Chaffinch (Fringilla c?ilebs) is O.E. ceaffinc. ///
chaff at English => English (Longman) Of Explained:
n [U] [Language: Old English; Origin: ceaf]//
1 the outer seed covers that are separated from grain before it is used as food:
2 dried grasses and plant stems that are used for food for farm animals: separate the wheat from the chaff at wheat(2)//
chaff at English => English (Moby Thesaurus II) Of Explained:
198 Moby Thesaurus words for "chaff":
afterglow, afterimage, air, aluminum foil, badinage, balance,
banter, bark, barrack, bones, bran, bric-a-brac, bubble, butt,
butt end, candle ends, capsule, case, cattle, chicken feed,
chickenshit, chip, cobweb, cork, corn shuck, cornhusk, culm,
cut at, deadwood, debris, details, detritus, dig at, dishwater,
down, draff, dregs, dregs of society, dump on, dust, end, ether,
exchange, fag end, fairy, feather, filings, fleer, flout, flue,
fluff, foam, fooling, fooling around, fossil, froth, fun, fuzz,
garbage, gash, gibe, gimcrackery, give-and-take,
good-natured banter, gossamer, harmless teasing, haze, hogwash,
holdover, hull, husk, husks, jab, jab at, jacket, jape, jeer, jest,
jive, joke, joking, jolly, josh, joshing, kid, kidding,
kidding around, knickknackery, leavings, lees, leftovers, minutiae,
mock, mote, needle, odds and ends, offal, offscourings, offscum,
orts, palea, parings, peanuts, peel, persiflage, pleasantry, pod,
pooh, pooh-pooh, potsherds, put down, put on, raff, rag, ragging,
rags, rail at, raillery, rally, rallying, rank out, raspings, razz,
refuse, relics, remainder, remains, remnant, residue, residuum,
rest, revile, rib, ride, ridicule, riffraff, rind, roach, roast,
rubbish, ruins, rump, sawdust, scoff, scourings, scout, scrap iron,
scraps, scum, shadow, shards, shavings, shell, shuck, skin, slack,
slag, slam, slap at, slop, slops, small beer, small change, sneer,
sneer at, sordes, sponge, sport, spume, straw, stubble, stump,
survival, sweepings, swill, swinish multitude, swipe, tares, taunt,
tease, teasing, thistledown, tinfoil, trace, trash, trifles,
trivia, trumpery, twit, twitting, vermin, vestige, wastage, waste,
waste matter, wastepaper, weeds, window
Chaff at English => English (Eastons 1897 Bible) Of Explained:
, neap, compact, contractile, compressible, smaller.
[N] (Contraction): contraction, reduction, diminution, decrease of size, defalcation, decrement, lessening, shrinking, compaction, collapse, emaciation, attenuation, consumption, atrophy, condensation, compression, compactness, compendium, squeezing, strangulation, astringency, astringent, compressibility.
[ADJ] (Contraction): contracting, astringent, reduced, shrunk, contracted, strangulated, wizened, stunted, waning, neap, compact, con
chaff at English => English (Oxford Advanced Learners) Of Explained:
noun, verb
noun [U]
1 the outer covering of the seeds of grain such as wheat, which is separated from the grain before it is eaten
2 STRAW (= the dried stems of wheat) and HAY (= dried grass) cut up as food for cows
IDIOMS see WHEAT
verb [VN] (old-fashioned or formal) to make jokes about sb in a friendly way
SYN TEASE
Chaff at English => English (Websters 1913) Of Explained:
Chaff \Chaff\, v. i. [imp. & p. p. {Chaffed}; p. pr. & vb. n.
{Chaffing}.]
To use light, idle language by way of fun or ridicule; to
banter.
Chaff \Chaff\, v. t.
To make fun of; to turn into ridicule by addressing in
ironical or bantering language; to quiz.
Morgan saw that his master was chaffing him.
--Thackeray.
A dozen honest fellows . . . chaffed each other about
their sweethearts. --C. Kingsley.
Chaff \Chaff\, n. [AC. ceaf; akin to D. kaf, G. kaff.]
1. The glumes or husks of grains and grasses separated from
the seed by threshing and winnowing, etc.
So take the corn and leave the chaff behind.
--Dryden.
Old birds are not caught with caff. --Old Proverb.
2. Anything of a comparatively light and worthless character;
the refuse part of anything.
The chaff and ruin of the times. --Shak.
3. Straw or hay cut up fine for the food of cattle.
By adding chaff to his corn, the horse must take
more time to eat it. In this way chaff is very
useful. --Ywatt.
4. Light jesting talk; banter; raillery.
5. (Bot.) The scales or bracts on the receptacle, which
subtend each flower in the heads of many Composit[ae], as
the sunflower. --Gray.
{Chaff cutter}, a machine for cutting, up straw, etc., into
``chaff'' for the use of cattle.
chaff at English => English (WordNet) Of Explained:
chaff
n 1: material consisting of seed coverings and small pieces of
stem or leaves that have been separated from the seeds
[syn: {husk}, {shuck}, {stalk}, {straw}, {stubble}]
2: foil in thin strips; ejected into the air as a radar
countermeasure
v : be silly or tease one another; "After we relaxed, we just
kidded around" [syn: {kid}, {jolly}, {josh}, {banter}]
chaff at English (WD) Of Explained:
==English==
Etymology
Inter: Webster 191 » 3Inter: etyl » ang ceaf; akin to West Frisian tsjêf, Category: w - :Dutch language|Dutch kaf, Category: w - :German language|German Kaff.
Pronunciation
* Inter: a » RP Inter: IPA » /tʃæf/|/tʃɑːf/- Inter: a » US Inter: IPA » /tʃæf/
- Inter: rhymes » æf
Noun
Inter: en-noun » -
Derived terms
* separate the wheat from the chaffSee also
* branTranslations
Inter: trans-top » inedible parts of grain plantInter: trans-mi » d
- Macedonian: Inter: t- » mk|плева|f|tr=pléva
- Polish: Inter: t- » pl|plewy|f|p, Inter: t- » pl|sieczka|f
- Portuguese: Inter: t- » pt|moinha|f
- Romanian: Inter: t- » ro|pleavă|f
- Russian: Inter: t+ » ru|мякина|f|sc=Cyrl|tr=mjakína, Inter: t+ » ru|плевел|m|tr=plével|sc=Cyrl, Inter: t+ » ru|сечка|f|tr=séčka|sc=Cyrl, Inter: t+ » ru|полова|f|tr=polóva|sc=Cyrl
- Serbo-Croatian:
- : Cyrillic: Inter: t- » sh|плева|f, Inter: t- » sh|пљева|f
- : Roman: Inter: t- » sh|pleva|f, Inter: t- » sh|pljeva|f
- Slovak: Inter: t- » sk|pleva|f
- Slovene: Inter: t- » sl|pleva|f
- Spanish: Inter: t- » es|barcia|f, Inter: qualifier » Mexico Inter: t+ » es|bagazo|m
- Swahili: Inter: t+ » sw|wishwa
- Swedish: Inter: t+ » sv|agn|c
- Ukrainian: Inter: t- » uk|полова|f|tr=polóva|sc=Cyrl, Inter: t- » uk|січка|f|tr=síčka|sc=Cyrl
- West Frisian: Inter: t- » fy|tsjêf|n
Inter: trans-botto » m
Inter: trans-top » excess or unwanted material
- Bulgarian: Inter: t+ » bg|плява|f|tr=pljáva
- Dutch: Inter: t+ » nl|kaf
- Finnish: Inter: t+ » fi|akana|p|alt=akanat
- Japanese: Inter: t+ » ja|滓|tr=かす, kasu|sc=Jpan
- Russian: Inter: t+ » ru|отбросы|m|p|tr=otbrósy
Inter: trans-mi » d
Inter: trans-botto » m
Verb
Inter: en-ver » bTranslations
Inter: trans-top » to use idle language to ridiculeInter: trans-mi » d
- Japanese: Inter: t+ » ja|からかう|tr=karakau|sc=Jpan
Inter: trans-botto » m
Inter: trans-top » to make fun of
- Dutch: Inter: t+ » nl|plagen
- Finnish: Inter: t- » fi|irvailla, Inter: t- » fi|vinoilla
Inter: trans-mi » d
Inter: trans-botto » m
Category: ang:chaff -
Translation: et » chaff
Translation: eo » chaff
Translation: fa » chaff
Translation: fr » chaff
Translation: ko » chaff
Translation: io » chaff
Translation: zu » chaff
Translation: it » chaff
Translation: kn » chaff
Translation: sw » chaff
Translation: lt » chaff
Translation: mg » chaff
Translation: ml » chaff
Translation: my » chaff
Translation: nl » chaff
Translation: pl » chaff
Translation: pt » chaff
Translation: fi » chaff
Translation: ta » chaff
Translation: te » chaff
Translation: th » chaff
Translation: vi » chaff
Translation: zh » chaff