chaff

English

Etymology

From Middle English chaf, from Old English ċeaf, from Proto-Germanic *kafą.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /tʃæf/, /tʃɑːf/
• IPA^(key): /tʃæf/
• Rhymes: -æf

Noun

chaff (usually uncountable, plural chaffs)

1. The inedible parts of a grain-producing plant.

   To separate out the chaff, early cultures tossed baskets of grain into the air and let the wind blow away the lighter chaff.

   • (Can we date this quote by Dryden and provide title, author’s full name, and other details?)

     So take the corn and leave the chaff behind.

2. Straw or hay cut up fine for the food of cattle.
   • (Can we date this quote by Wyatt and provide title, author’s full name, and other details?)

     By adding chaff to his corn, the horse must take more time to eat it. In this way chaff is very useful.

3. (figurative) Any excess or unwanted material, resource, or person; anything worthless.
   • (Can we date this quote by Shakespeare and provide title, author’s full name, and other details?)

     the chaff and ruin of the times

   • 1927-29, M.K. Gandhi, The Story of My Experiments with Truth, translated 1940 by Mahadev Desai, Part I, Chapter xxi:

     Who that has prided himself on his spiritual strength has not seen it humbled to the dust? A knowledge of religion, as distinguished from experience, seems but chaff in such moments of trial.

4. Light jesting talk; banter; raillery.
5. (military) Loose material, e.g. small strips of aluminum foil dropped from aircraft, intended to interfere with radar detection.

   Synonym: window

Derived terms

• chaffinch
• separate the wheat from the chaff

 

Translations

inedible parts of grain plant

• Albanian: byk (sq) m
• Armenian: դարման (hy) (darman), հարդ (hy) (hard)
• Belarusian: мякі́на f (mjakína), пле́вел m (pljévjel)
• Bulgarian: пля́ва (bg) f (pljáva)
• Catalan: pallús (ca) m
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 秕糠 (zh) (bǐkāng), 穀殼／谷壳 (zh), 谷壳 (zh) (gǔké), 穀糠／谷糠 (zh) (gǔkāng), 谷糠 (zh) (gǔkāng)

• Cimbrian: bülla f
• Czech: pleva f
• Dutch: kaf (nl)
• Finnish: ruumen (fi)
• French: balle (fr) f, bale (fr)
• Galician: tasco m, muíña f, palla (gl) f
• German: Spreu (de) f, Spelze (de) f
• Greek:

  Ancient: ἄχυρον n (ákhuron)

• Hebrew: מוץ (he) (mótz)
• Hungarian: pelyva (hu)
• Ido: palio (io)
• Irish: lóchán m, cáith f
• Italian: pula (it) f
• Japanese: 籾殻 (もみがら, momigara), もみがら (ja)
• Korean: 왕겨 (wanggyeo)
• Latin: apluda f, palea f
• (deprecated template usage) {{trans-mid}}
• Luxembourgish: Kuef m
• Macedonian: плева f (pleva)
• Maori: pāpapa
• Occitan: àbet m, ac (oc) m, òlva m, balòfa f
• Polish: plewy f pl, sieczka (pl) f
• Portuguese: moinha (pt) f, palha (pt) f
• Romanian: pleavă (ro) f
• Russian: мяки́на (ru) f (mjakína), пле́вел (ru) m (plével), се́чка (ru) f (séčka), поло́ва (ru) f (polóva)
• Sanskrit: पलाव (sa) m (palāva)
• Serbo-Croatian:

  Cyrillic: плева f, пљева f

  Roman: pleva (sh) f, pljeva (sh) f

• Slovak: plevy f pl
• Slovene: pleva f
• Spanish: paja (es) f, barcia f, (Mexico) bagazo (es) m
• Swahili: wishwa (sw)
• Swedish: agn (sv) c
• Thai: แกลบ (th) (glɛ̀ɛp)
• Turkish: kepek (tr)
• Ukrainian: поло́ва f (polóva), сі́чка f (síčka)
• Vietnamese: trấu (vi)
• Welsh: manus m pl
• West Frisian: tsjêf n
• White Hmong: npluag

excess or unwanted material

• Bulgarian: пля́ва (bg) f (pljáva)
• Dutch: kaf (nl)
• Finnish: akanat (fi)
• Japanese: 滓 (ja) (かす, kasu)
• Russian: отбро́сы (ru) m pl (otbrósy)
• (deprecated template usage) {{trans-mid}}
• Serbo-Croatian:

  Cyrillic: плева f, пљева f

  Roman: pleva (sh) f, pljeva (sh) f

• Swahili: wishwa (sw)

loose material dropped from aircraft to interfere with radar

• Finnish: silppu
• (deprecated template usage) {{trans-mid}}
• German: Düppel (de) pl

straw or hay cut up for cattle food

• Finnish: silppu
• Maori: pāpapa, tiawhe
• (deprecated template usage) {{trans-mid}}
• Polish: sieczka (pl) f
• Spanish: pienso (es) m

light jesting talk

• Bulgarian: закачка (bg) f (zakačka)
• Finnish: irvailu (fi), vinoilu (fi)
• (deprecated template usage) {{trans-mid}}
• Maori: whakatara

See also

• bran

Verb

chaff (third-person singular simple present chaffs, present participle chaffing, simple past and past participle chaffed)

1. (intransitive) To use light, idle language by way of fun or ridicule; to banter.
2. (transitive) To make fun of; to turn into ridicule by addressing in ironical or bantering language; to quiz.

Translations

to use idle language to ridicule

• Bulgarian: закачам се (zakačam se)
• Finnish: irvailla, vinoilla (fi)
• Japanese: からかう (ja) (karakau)
• (deprecated template usage) {{trans-mid}}
• Maori: whakatara

to make fun of

• Dutch: plagen (nl)
• Finnish: irvailla, vinoilla (fi)
• Ido: moketar (io)
• (deprecated template usage) {{trans-mid}}
• Japanese: からかう (ja) (karakau)
• Maori: whakatara

References

• “chaff”, in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.: G. & C. Merriam, 1913, →OCLC.

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Middle English

Noun

chaff

1. Alternative form of chaf