chaf

Middle English

FWOTD – 5 September 2020

Alternative forms

• caf, caff, caffe, chaff, chaffe, chef, kaf, kaff, schaf

Etymology

Inherited from Old English ċeaf, *cæf, from Proto-West Germanic *kaf, from Proto-Germanic *kafą.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /t͡ʃaf/, /t͡ʃɛf/, /kaf/

Noun

chaf (plural chaffes)

1. Chaff; the parts of harvested grain not usable as food, especially straw or husks.
2. (figurative) Something of little to no value or importance.
3. (figurative) An evil or immoral act or person; a sin or a practitioner of one.
   • c. 1395, John Wycliffe, John Purvey [et al.], transl., Bible (Wycliffite Bible (later version), MS Lich 10.)‎^[1], published c. 1410, Matheu 3:12, page 2r, column 1; republished as Wycliffe's translation of the New Testament, Lichfield: Bill Endres, 2010:

     whos wynewing cloþ is in his hond .· ⁊ he ſchal fulli clenſe his coꝛn flooꝛ / and he ſchal gadere his wheete in to his berne .· but þe chaf he ſchal bꝛenne wiþ fier þat mai not be quenchid

     His winnowing fan is in his hand; he'll fully clean his threshing-floor, he'll gather up his wheat into his barn, and he'll burn the chaff with unquenchable fire.

4. (rare) Waste from food other than grains; rubbish or refuse.

Descendants

• English: chaff
• Scots: caff
• → Irish: cabha

References

• “chaf, n.”, in MED Online, Ann Arbor, Mich.: University of Michigan, 2007, retrieved 2019-1-3.

Welsh

Pronunciation

• (North Wales) (standard) IPA^(key): /χaːv/
  • (North Wales) (colloquial) IPA^(key): /χaː/
• (South Wales) (standard) (colloquial) IPA^(key): /χaːv/
  • (South Wales) (colloquial) IPA^(key): /χaː/

Verb

chaf

1. Aspirate mutation of caf.

Mutation

Welsh mutation
radical	soft	nasal	aspirate
caf	gaf	nghaf	chaf
Note: Some of these forms may be hypothetical. Not every possible mutated form of every word actually occurs.