chievance

C3H4I1E1V4A1N1C3E1

noun

An unlawful bargain; trade in which money is extorted as discount.

OriginOld French chevance →
Scrabble 19
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Meanings

nounchievance (plural chievances)

plural chievances

  1. obsoleteAn unlawful bargain; trade in which money is extorted as discount.

    There were good laws against usury, the bastard use of money; and against unlawful chievances and exchanges, which is bastard usury.

    1622, Francis, Lord Verulam, Viscount St. Alban [i.e. Francis Bacon], The Historie of the Raigne of King Henry the Seventh, […], London: […] W[illiam] Stansby for Matthew Lownes, and William Barret, →OCLC

Origin

  1. Old Frenchchevance“property”
  2. Englishchievance

From Old French chevance (“property”), equivalent to chevisance, from chevir (“to accomplish”). See chevisance.

More words from Old French

Full word history & related roots →
Cite this entry
APA

chievance. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/chievance

MLA

“chievance.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/chievance. Accessed November 2, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “chievance,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/chievance.

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