Etymology

chaff

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Today it means: The inedible parts of a grain-producing plant. Full definition →

Middle English chaf ← Old English ċeaf ← Proto-West Germanic *kaf
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The story

  1. Proto-West Germanic · inherited from*kaf
  2. Old English · inherited fromċeaf
  3. Middle English · inherited fromchaf
  4. English todaychaff

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.

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.