Obs. Forms: 5 charrette, 5–6 charett, 5–7 charette, (6 chear-, chairette), 6–7 charet, charret. [a. OF. charrette, (charete) wagon, cart, dim. of OF. charre CAR sb.1 (prob. of Romanic age: cf. It. and med.L. carretta, Sp. and Pr. carreta). In mod. French charrette is a two-wheeled vehicle with two shafts, while chariot is four-wheeled. This distinction may be historical, and may have existed originally in Eng. also; but here, after the shifting of the stress to the first syllable, and consequent obscuration of the termination, charet(te and chariot were confounded and treated as synonymous; and the former became obsolete before the middle of the 17th c., though it virtually survived as a pronunciation of chariot till the 19th c. With six exceptions charet occurs uniformly in the Bible of 1611, but has been everywhere changed in later editions to chariot.]
1. A wheeled vehicle or conveyance: a. for persons or goods; a carriage, chariot, cart, wagon, etc.
a. 1400[?]. Chester Pl., II. (1847), 141. Fower charrettes came anon.
c. 1400. Maundev., xxii. 241. In a Charett with 4 Wheles … and 4 or 5 or 6 of the grettest Lordes ryden aboute this charyot.
1494. Fabyan, VII. 535. So many wedgys of golde as shulde charge or lade viii. charettis.
1533. Cranmer, in Ellis, Orig. Lett., I. 114, II. 37. Riche charettes … furnysshed with diverse auncient old lades.
1606. Bryskett, Civ. Life, 100. It is harder to rule two horses to guide a coach or charret then one.
1611. Bible, 2 Kings ix. 16. So Iehu rode in a charet.
1653. H. Cogan, trans. Pinto’s Trav., iii. (1663), § 2. 7. This Imposter rode up and down the Town in a triumphant Charret.
1654. Trapp, Comm. Ps. xlv. 4. The Kings of the earth … have their Charrets drawn by other horses.
b. A war-chariot. (In biblical or classical use.)
1535. Coverdale, Dan. xi. 40. And the kinge of the north … shall come agaynst him with charettes. Ibid., Zech. vi. 2. In the first charet were reade horse.
1611. Bible, Ex. xiv. 7. Hee tooke sixe hundred chosen charets, and all the charets of Egypt, and captaines ouer euery one of them.
1650. R. Gell, Serm., 8 Aug., 20. Somewhat before Jerusalem was taken by Titus, a little before Sun-set, there were seen in the air round about Jerusalem, charets and armed men.
1676. Hobbes, Iliad, III. 28. Arm’d from his charret to the ground leapt he.
2. Comb. and attrib., as charet-city, -driver, -horse, -wheel; charet-man, = CHARIOTEER.
1611. Bible, 2 Chron. i. 14. Solomon gathered carets and horsemen: and hee had a thousand and foure hundred charets, and twelue thousand horsemen, which he placed in the *charet-cities.
1581. Savile, Tacitus’ Hist., II. xciv. (1591), 108. Vitellius … builded vp stables for *charet driuers.
1611. Bible, 2 Sam. viii. 4. Dauid houghed all the *charet horses, but reserued of them for an hundred charets.
1535. Coverdale, 2 Kings ix. 18. The *charetman rode to mete them.
1577. Holinshed, Chron., I. 26/2. And those charetmen by exercise and custome were so cunning.
