chaff
/t͡ʃæf/
Word Rarity
Rare
Frequency: 2.75 in modern English
16
Scrabble Score
5
Letters
1
Syllables
4
Unique Chars
Meaning
noun
Loose material, e.g. small strips of aluminum foil dropped from aircraft, intended to interfere with radar detection.
Uncountable
verb
To make fun of; to turn into ridicule by addressing in ironical or bantering language.
Transitive verb
Example Sentences
- "To separate out the chaff, early cultures tossed baskets of grain into the air and let the wind blow away the lighter chaff."
- "So take the corn and leave the chaff behind."
- "In the passage outside the door, the threshers, who had done their day's work, were stamping the snow off their feet before they came in, - their hair full of chaff."
- "By adding chaff to his corn, the horse must take more time to eat it, and time is given for the commencement of digestion, before fermentation can occur. In this way chaff is very useful, especially after long fasts."
- "the chaff and ruin of the times"
- "Who that has prided himself on his spiritual strength has not seen it humbled to the dust? A knowledge of religion, as distinguished from experience, seems but chaff in such moments of trial."
Etymology
From Middle English chaf, from Old English ċeaf, from Proto-West Germanic *kaf. Cognate with Scots caff, Saterland Frisian Sääf, West Frisian tsjêf, Dutch kaf, German Low German Kaff, regional German Kaff.
Origin
Word Breakdown
Regional Pronunciation
- American English: /t͡ʃæf/
- British English: /t͡ʃæf/
Usage
Subject
Wiktionary places this term in Food.