chelp
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English[edit]
Etymology[edit]
Probably of imitative origin;[1] perhaps from ch(irp) + (y)elp.[2]
Verb[edit]
chelp (third-person singular simple present chelps, present participle chelping, simple past and past participle chelped)
- (intransitive, Northern England) To gossip, particularly in a forthright manner.
- He's not here so we are chelping in the staffroom and ignoring the to-do list on the board.
- 1820, John Clare, “My Mary” in Poems Descriptive of Rural Life and Scenery, London: Taylor and Hessey, p. 87,[1]
- Who’s laugh’d at too by every whelp,
- For failings which she cannot help?
- But silly fools will laugh and chelp,
- My Mary.
- (intransitive, Northern England) To speak rudely or out of turn.
- The teacher got angry at all her chelping.
References[edit]
- ^ “chelp”, in Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster, 1996–present.
- ^ “chelp”, in Collins English Dictionary.