Part 174

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.

Char"ac*ter*less, a. Destitute of any distinguishing quality; without character or force.

Char"ac*ter*y (?), n. 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. [Obs.]

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

Cha*rade" (?), n. [F. charade, cf. Pr. charrada long chat, It ciarlare to chat, whence E. 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.

Char"bo*cle (?), n. Carbuncle. [Written also Charboncle.] [Obs.] Chaucer.

Char"bon (?), n. [F., 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.

Char"coal` (?), n. [See Char, v. t., 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 (chńrd), n. [Cf. F. 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 (chÔr), n. A narrow street. [Prov. Eng.]

Chare, n. & v. A chore; to chore; to do. See Char.

Charge (chńrj), v. t. [imp. & p. p. Charged (chńrjd); p. pr. & vb. n. Charging.] [OF. chargier, F. charger, fr. LL. carricare, fr. L. carrus wagon. Cf. 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.