char

char · verb, noun¹

Back-formation from charcoal.

char · noun²

1. Proto-Germanic · derived from*skardaz
2. Old Saxon · derived fromskard
3. Middle Low German · derived fromschar“flounder, dab”
4. Irish · derived fromceara“fiery red”
5. English todaychar

Unknown, perhaps from Celtic, such as Irish ceara (“fiery red”) (found in personal names). Or, perhaps borrowed from Middle Low German schar (“flounder, dab”), from Old Saxon skard, from Proto-Germanic *skardaz, related to *skeraną (“to cut”), referring to its shape. If so, related to shard.

char · noun, verb³

1. Proto-Indo-European · derived from*gers-“to bend, turn”
2. Proto-Germanic · inherited from*karzijaną“to turn”
3. Old English · inherited fromċierr“a turn, change, time, occasion, affair, business”
4. Middle English · inherited fromcherre“odd job”
5. English todaychar

From Middle English cherre (“odd job”), from Old English ċierr (“a turn, change, time, occasion, affair, business”), from ċierran (“to turn, change, turn oneself, go, come, proceed, turn back, return, regard, translate, persuade, convert, be converted, agree to, submit, make to submit, reduce”), from Proto-Germanic *karzijaną (“to turn”), possibly from Proto-Indo-European *gers- (“to bend, turn”). Cognate with Dutch keer (“a time, turn, occasion”), German Kehre (“a turn, bight, bend”) and kehren (“to sweep”) or umkehren (“to return or reverse”). More at chore, ajar.

char · noun⁴

Clipping of character. Used as the name of a data type in some programming languages, including notably C.

char · noun⁵

Non-rhotic spelling of cha.

Char · proper noun⁶

Shortening (of personal names).

Words from the same roots