Forms: 1 ciérran, cerran, cyrran, 2 cherre, 2–4 cher, 3 churre, chearre, 3–4 chere, 4 charre, 4–6 charr, 7 (chaer, chewre), 3– chare, 4– char. [OE. cęrran (Vesp. Ps.) W. S. cięrran, cyrran:—OTeut. type *karrjan or *karzjan, f. *karri- *karzi, OE. cęrre, CHARE sb.1 Senses 4 and 5 are perhaps newly formed on the sb.
(Often identified with OHG. chêran, chêrran (:—chêrjan) MHG. kêren, Ger. kehren, OLG. kêrjan (kêrôn), MDu. kêren, Du. keeren, OFris. kêra, with the same signification. But these represent an OTeut. *kairjan or *kaizjan, the vocalism of which is entirely different. Cf. CHARE sb.1)
The modern form is generally chare, though char is not uncommon; chore and chewre are dial.]
† 1. trans. To turn; esp. to turn aside or away (also with by); to lead aside; to drive away. Obs.
c. 1000. Ags. Ps. cxiii.[iv] 8. He … clifu cyrreð on cwicu swylce wæteres wellan.
a. 1240. Lofsong, in Cott. Hom., 215. And cher me from sunne.
c. 1325. Metr. Hom. (1862), 52. Satenas our wai will charre.
c. 1340. Gaw. & Gr. Knt., 850. Þe lorde hym charred to a chambre.
a. 1400. Cov. Myst. (1841), 325. And chare awey the crowe.
1501. Douglas, Pal. Hon., I. xix. And stand on rowme quhair better folk bene charrit. Ibid. (1513), Æneis, II. v. (iv) 43. As ane bull … charris by the aix with his nek wyght.
1674. Ray, N. C. Wds., 10. Chare, to stop: as char the Cow, i.e. Stop or turn her.
So 1721. in Bailey.
† b. Inverted constr. (= ‘to turn the rain from her.’) Obs. rare.
a. 1500. Prose Leg., in Anglia, VIII. 142. She hadde no cloþes to chare hir fro þe rayne.
† 2. refl. in sense of next. Obs.
c. 1000. Cædmon’s Satan, 698 (Gr.). Cer ðe on bæcling.
c. 1205. Lay., 21266. Þis isæh Childric, & gon him to charren.
[c. 1400. Destr. Troy, 8643. Achilles for the chop cherit hym not litle, Braid out of batell, bound vp his wounde.]
† 3. intr. To turn; esp. to turn away or aside, depart; to turn back, return. Obs. Cf. AGAIN-CHARE in AGAIN- 2.
c. 1000. Ags. Ps. lxix. [lxx.] 3. Hi on hinderlincg … cyrrað.
c. 1175. Lamb. Hom., 79. Hwan ic aȝen cherre.
c. 1205. Lay., 29495. And charde aȝein sone eft into Rome.
a. 1225. Juliana, 33. Te þreo children þe chearre nalden from þe lahen.
a. 1250. Prov. Ælfred, 85, in O. E. Misc., 106. Eueruyches monnes dom to his owere dure churreþ.
c. 1250. Gen. & Ex., 2390. Or ic of werlde chare.
c. 1375. ? Barbour, St. Theodera, 121. Scho … as scho mycht, did turne & chare.
† b. To turn from one bodily state, belief, etc., to another. Obs.
c. 1225. Leg. Kath., 2260. Chear ananriht, þæt te oðre chearren þurh þe.
c. 1330. R. Brunne, Chron. Wace (Rolls), 15730. Þe ffeuere agu ful sore hym hatte; But sone he chared [Wace Dont cil retorne] & wel swatte.
4. trans. To do, accomplish (a turn of work). arch. or Obs.
1570. Marriage Wit & Sc., IV. iv. in Hazl., Dodsley, II. 375. This char is char’d well.
1602. [see CHAR sb.1 4].
1612. Fletcher, Two Noble K., III. ii. 21. All’s chared when he is gone. Ibid. (c. 1622), Love’s Cure, III. ii. Here’s two chewres chewr’d.
1816. Scott, Bl. Dwarf, vii. How now, ruffian, is thy job chared?
5. intr. To do odd turns or jobs, esp. of housework; to work in this way by the day, without continuous employment; hence trans. (colloq.) to do the cleaning work of (a house). Hence Charing vbl. sb.
1732. Acc. Workhouses (ed. 2), 95. If any person shall go a begging, or charing … they shall be sent to Bridewell.
1810. Coleridge, Friend (1883), 230. Him, herself, and two little children, she had to maintain by washing and charing (note, I am ignorant whether there be any classical authority for this word, but I know no other word that expresses occasional day labour in the houses of others).
1826. Miss Mitford, Village, Ser. III. (1863), 528. The identical lady of the mop, who occasionally chared at the house.
1837. Dickens, Pickw. (1847), 273/1. ‘Betsy Martin … goes out charing and washing, by the day.’
1864. H. Kingsley, in Macm. Mag., Dec., 144. Look at that girl’s charing; why I never see anything like it, with the exception of Mrs. Chittle, who chared Park Villa at the end of a fortnight, nursing two.
