chafer

C3H4A1F4E1R1

noun

One who chafes.

OriginMiddle English chaufour ← Anglo-Norman chaufour ← Latin calefactōrium →
UncommonScrabble 14
Ask AI about this wordChatGPTClaudePerplexityGoogle AIGrok

Meanings

chafer1

nounchafer (plural chafers)

plural chafers

  1. One who chafes.
  2. A vessel for heating water; hence, a dish or pan.

    A chafer of water to cool the ends of the irons.

    1643, Richard Baker, Chronicle of the Kings of England from the Time of the Romans' Government unto the Death of King James
  3. A vessel for holding burning coals or hot water used as a warmer.

    Enter Mephoſtophilis with the Chafer of fire. / Meph. See Fauſtus here is fire, ſet it on.

    1589–1592 (date written), Ch[ristopher] Mar[lowe], The Tragicall Historie of the Life and Death of Doctor Faustus. […], London: […] Iohn Wright, […], published 1616 (1631 reprint), →OCLC, page [21]

chafer2

nounchafer (plural chafers)

plural chafers

  1. Any of several scarab beetles, including the cockchafer, leaf chafer, and rose chafer.

    He who torments the Chafers sprite Weaves a Bower in endleſs Night

    c. 1803, William Blake, “Auguries of Innocence” in the Pickering Manuscript

Origin

chafer · noun

  1. Latincalefactōrium
  2. Anglo-Normanchaufour
  3. Middle Englishchaufour
  4. Englishchafer

From Middle English chaufour, chafour, from Anglo-Norman chaufour, from Latin calefactōrium; equivalent to chafe + -er.

More words from Middle English, Anglo-Norman, Latin

Full word history & related roots →

chafer · noun

  1. Proto-West Germanic*kefrō“beetle”
  2. Old Englishċeafor
  3. Middle Englishchafur
  4. Englishchafer

From Middle English chafur, chavere, from Old English ċeafor, from Proto-West Germanic *kefrō (“beetle”). Cognate with German Käfer and Dutch kever.

More words from Middle English, Old English, Proto-West Germanic

Full word history & related roots →

Translations

Esperanto cetonio
  • cetonioa type of beetle
Māori tūtae ruru
  • tūtae rurua type of beetle
Polish chrabąszcz
  • chrabąszcza type of beetle
Cite this entry
APA

chafer. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/chafer

MLA

“chafer.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/chafer. Accessed November 3, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “chafer,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/chafer.

Source: chafer on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.