/t͡ʃeɪf/
OriginFrom Middle English chaufen (“to warm”), borrowed from Old French chaufer (modern French chauffer), from Latin calefacere, calfacere (“to make warm”), from calere (“to be warm”) + facere (“to make”). See caldron.
- countable, uncountableHeat excited by friction.
- countable, uncountableInjury or wear caused by friction.
- archaic, countable, uncountableVexation; irritation of mind; rage.
“Like a wylde Bull, that, being at a bay, / Is bayted of a mastiffe and a hound / […] That in his chauffe he digs the trampled ground / And threats his horns […]”
“When we returned we found the poor prisoner in a terrible chafe with the sentinel for detaining him, for the guard had been true to his trust.”
- transitiveTo excite heat in by friction; to rub in order to stimulate and make warm.
- figuratively, transitiveTo excite passion or anger in; to fret; to irritate.
- transitiveTo fret and wear by rubbing.
- intransitiveTo rub; to come together so as to wear by rubbing; to wear by friction.
“the troubled Tiber chafing with her shores”
“[Gitche Manito] Breathed upon the neighbouring forest, / Made its great boughs chafe together, / Till in flame they burst and kindled; […]”
- intransitiveTo be worn by rubbing.
- figuratively, intransitiveTo have a feeling of vexation; to be vexed; to fret; to be irritated.
“He will chafe at the doctor's marrying my daughter.”
“Many local politicians chafed under the restrictions of Guided Democracy[…]”
“As Meta has spent billions to bring in A.I. talent, some members of the old guard have chafed at the new hires, three people with knowledge of the matter said.”
Formschafes(plural) · chafes(present, singular, third-person) · chafing(participle, present) · chafed(participle, past) · chafed(past)