n. (Zool.) The hypoptilum. [ 1913 Webster ]

adj. 1. having an aftershaft (a small feather at the base of some feathers) [ WordNet 1.5 ]

A passage, usually vertical, for admitting fresh air into a mine or a tunnel. [ 1913 Webster ]

‖n.; pl. -schaften /plu>. [ G. ] In Germany, any of various associations of university students formed (the original one at Jena in 1815) to support liberal ideas, or the organization formed by the affiliation of the local bodies. The organization was suppressed by the government in 1819, but was secretly revived, and is now openly maintained as a social organization, the restrictive laws having been repealed prior to 1849. -- Bur"schen*schaft`ler Bur"schen*schaf`ter n. [ Webster 1913 Suppl. ]

def>An arrow without a barb, for shooting at butts; an arrow. [ Also but shaft. ] Shak. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. a shaft that has cams attached to it, forming part of a mechanical device. [ WordNet 1.5 ]

v. t. [ imp. & p. p. Chafed p pr. & vb. n. Chafing. ] [ OE. chaufen to warm, OF. chaufer, F. chauffer, fr. L. calefacere, calfacere, to make warm; calere to be warm + facere to make. See Caldron. ] 1. To excite heat in by friction; to rub in order to stimulate and make warm. [ 1913 Webster ]

To rub her temples, and to chafe her skin. Spenser. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. To excite passion or anger in; to fret; to irritate. [ 1913 Webster ]

Her intercession chafed him. Shak. [ 1913 Webster ]

3. To fret and wear by rubbing; as, to chafe a cable. [ 1913 Webster ]

Two slips of parchment which she sewed round it to prevent its being chafed. Sir W. Scott.

Syn. -- To rub; fret; gall; vex; excite; inflame. [ 1913 Webster ]

v. i. To rub; to come together so as to wear by rubbing; to wear by friction. [ 1913 Webster ]

Made its great boughs chafe together. Longfellow. [ 1913 Webster ]

The troubled Tiber chafing with her shores. Shak. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. To be worn by rubbing; as, a cable chafes. [ 1913 Webster ]

3. To have a feeling of vexation; to be vexed; to fret; to be irritated. Spenser. [ 1913 Webster ]

He will chafe at the doctor's marrying my daughter. Shak. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. 1. Heat excited by friction. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. Injury or wear caused by friction. [ 1913 Webster ]

3. Vexation; irritation of mind; rage. [ 1913 Webster ]

The cardinal in a chafe sent for him to Whitehall. Camden. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. 1. One who chafes. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. A vessel for heating water; -- hence, a dish or pan. [ 1913 Webster ]

A chafer of water to cool the ends of the irons. Baker. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ AS. ceafor; akin to D. kever, G këfer. ] (Zool.) A kind of beetle; the cockchafer. The name is also applied to other species; as, the rose chafer. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ See Chafe, v. t. ] (Iron Works) An open furnace or forge, in which blooms are heated before being wrought into bars. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. (Bot.) The cudweed (Gnaphalium), used to prevent or cure chafing. [ 1913 Webster ]

v. i. [ imp. & p. p. Chaffed p. pr. & vb. n. Chaffing. ] To use light, idle language by way of fun or ridicule; to banter. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ AC. ceaf; akin to D. kaf, G. kaff. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

1. The glumes or husks of grains and grasses separated from the seed by threshing and winnowing, etc. [ 1913 Webster ]

So take the corn and leave the chaff behind. Dryden. [ 1913 Webster ]

Old birds are not caught with caff. Old Proverb. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. Anything of a comparatively light and worthless character; the refuse part of anything. [ 1913 Webster ]

The chaff and ruin of the times. Shak. [ 1913 Webster ]

3. Straw or hay cut up fine for the food of cattle. [ 1913 Webster ]

By adding chaff to his corn, the horse must take more time to eat it. In this way chaff is very useful. Ywatt. [ 1913 Webster ]

4. Light jesting talk; banter; raillery. [ 1913 Webster ]

5. (Bot.) The scales or bracts on the receptacle, which subtend each flower in the heads of many Compositæ, as the sunflower. Gray. [ 1913 Webster ]

Chaff cutter, a machine for cutting, up straw, etc., into “chaff” for the use of cattle. [ 1913 Webster ]

v. t. To make fun of; to turn into ridicule by addressing in ironical or bantering language; to quiz. [ 1913 Webster ]

Morgan saw that his master was chaffing him. Thackeray. [ 1913 Webster ]

A dozen honest fellows . . . chaffed each other about their sweethearts. C. Kingsley. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. One who chaffs. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ OE. chaffare, cheapfare; AS. ceáp a bargain, price + faru a journey; hence, originally, a going to barain, to market. See Cheap, and Fare. ] Bargaining; merchandise. [ Obs. ] Holished. [ 1913 Webster ]

v. i. [ imp. & p. p. Chaffered p. pr. & vb. n. Chaffering. ] [ OE. chaffaren, fr. chaffare, chapfare, cheapfare, a bargaining. See Chaffer, n. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

1. To treat or dispute about a purchase; to bargain; to haggle or higgle; to negotiate. [ 1913 Webster ]

To chaffer for preferments with his gold. Dryden. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. To talk much and idly; to chatter. Trench. [ 1913 Webster ]

v. t. 1. To buy or sell; to trade in. [ 1913 Webster ]

He chaffered chairs in which churchmen were set. Spenser. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. To exchange; to bandy, as words. Spenser. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. One who chaffers; a bargainer. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ See Chafe, v. t. ] A vessel for heating water. [ Obs. ] Johnson. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. Traffic; bargaining. [ Obs. ] Spenser. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ Cf. Chiff-chaff. ] (Zool.) A bird of Europe (Fringilla cœlebs), having a variety of very sweet songs, and highly valued as a cage bird; -- called also copper finch. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. The use of light, frivolous language by way of fun or ridicule; raillery; banter. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. Without chaff. [ 1913 Webster ]

{ or } n. (Eng. Law) Formerly a chancery officer who fitted wax for sealing writs and other documents. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. 1. Abounding in, or resembling, chaff. [ 1913 Webster ]

Chaffy grain beneath the thresher's flail. Coleridge. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. Light or worthless as chaff. [ 1913 Webster ]

Slight and chaffy opinion. Glanvill. [ 1913 Webster ]

3. (Bot.) (a) Resembling chaff; composed of light dry scales. (b) Bearing or covered with dry scales, as the under surface of certain ferns, or the disk of some composite flowers. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ See Chafe, v. t. ] The act of rubbing, or wearing by friction; making by rubbing. [ 1913 Webster ]

Chafing dish, a dish or vessel for cooking on the table, or for keeping food warm, either by coals, by a lamp, or by hot water; a portable grate for coals. --
Chafing gear (Naut.), any material used to protect sails, rigging, or the like, at points where they are exposed to friction. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ So called from its note. ] (Zool.) A species of European warbler (Sylvia hippolais); -- called also chip-chap, and pettychaps.

n. [ See Chafer the beetle. ] (Zool.) A beetle of the genus Melolontha (esp. Melolontha vulgaris) and allied genera; -- called also May bug, chafer, or dorbeetle. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. (Mach.) An intermediate shaft; esp., one which receives motion from a line shaft in a factory and transmits it to a machine. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. a rotating shaft that transmits power from the engine to the point of application. [ WordNet 1.5 ]

v. t. To chafe; to enrage; to heat. [ Obs. ] Shak. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. Heating; burning. [ Obs. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

The wicked enchaufing or ardure of this sin [ lust ]. Chaucer. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. (Mining) The first shaft sunk. Raymond. [ 1913 Webster ]

imp. of Heave. Hove. [ Obs. ] Chaucer. [ 1913 Webster ]

v. i. [ Cf. G. haften to cling, stick to, Prov. G., to stop, stammer. ] To stammer; to speak unintelligibly; to prevaricate. [ Prov. Eng. ] Halliwell. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. A metallic element of atomic number 72 present together with zirconium to the extent of 1% to 5% in zirconium minerals. It is a poisonous, ductile metal with a brilliant silver luster, has an atomic weight of 178.49, and has a high melting point (2227° C). It is used in nuclear reactors, and incandescent lamps as a scavenger of oxygen and nitrogen. See also norium. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ AS. hæft; akin to D. & G. heft, Icel. hepti, and to E. heave, or have. Cf. Heft. ] 1. A handle; that part of an instrument or vessel taken into the hand, and by which it is held and used; -- said chiefly of a knife, sword, or dagger; the hilt. [ 1913 Webster ]

This brandish'd dagger
I'll bury to the haft in her fair breast. Dryden. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. A dwelling. [ Scot. ] Jamieson. [ 1913 Webster ]

v. t. To set in, or furnish with, a haft; as, to haft a dagger. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ Cf. G. haften to cling or stick to, and E. haffle. ] A caviler; a wrangler. [ Obs. ] Baret. [ 1913 Webster ]

{ or } n. (Mach.) A secondary shaft, as in a sliding change gear for an automobile; a cam shaft operated by a two-to-one gear in an internal-combustion engine. It is generally a shaft moving more or less independently of the other parts of a machine, as, in some marine engines, a shaft, driven by a small auxiliary engine, for independently operating the valves of the main engine to insure uniform motion. [ Webster 1913 Suppl. ]

n. An arrow. [ Obs. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

[ Cf. Rock, v. i. ] (Mach.) A shaft that oscillates on its journals, instead of revolving, -- usually carrying levers by means of which it receives and communicates reciprocating motion, as in the valve gear of some steam engines; -- called also rocker, rocking shaft, and way shaft. [ 1913 Webster ]

v. i. [ See Shuffle. ] To hobble or limp; to shuffle. [ Obs. or Prov. Eng. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

n. A hobbler; one who limps; a shuffer. [ Obs. or Prov. Eng. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

n. A member of one of the four sects of the Sunnites, or Orthodox Mohammedans; -- so called from its founder, Mohammed al-Shafeï. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ OE. shaft, schaft, AS. sceaft; akin to D. schacht, OHG. scaft, G. schaft, Dan. & Sw. skaft handle, haft, Icel. skapt, and probably to L. scapus, Gr. &unr_;&unr_;&unr_;&unr_;, &unr_;&unr_;&unr_;&unr_;, a staff. Probably originally, a shaven or smoothed rod. Cf. Scape, Scepter, Shave. ] 1. The slender, smooth stem of an arrow; hence, an arrow. [ 1913 Webster ]

His sleep, his meat, his drink, is him bereft,
That lean he wax, and dry as is a shaft. Chaucer. [ 1913 Webster ]

A shaft hath three principal parts, the stele [ stale ], the feathers, and the head. Ascham. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. The long handle of a spear or similar weapon; hence, the weapon itself; (Fig.) anything regarded as a shaft to be thrown or darted; as, shafts of light. [ 1913 Webster ]

And the thunder,
Winged with red lightning and impetuous rage,
Perhaps hath spent his shafts. Milton. [ 1913 Webster ]

Some kinds of literary pursuits . . . have been attacked with all the shafts of ridicule. V. Knox. [ 1913 Webster ]

3. That which resembles in some degree the stem or handle of an arrow or a spear; a long, slender part, especially when cylindrical. Specifically: (a) (Bot.) The trunk, stem, or stalk of a plant. (b) (Zool.) The stem or midrib of a feather. See Illust. of Feather. (c) The pole, or tongue, of a vehicle; also, a thill. (d) The part of a candlestick which supports its branches. [ 1913 Webster ]

Thou shalt make a candlestick of pure gold . . . his shaft, and his branches, his bowls, his knops, and his flowers, shall be of the same. Ex. xxv. 31. [ 1913 Webster ]

(e) The handle or helve of certain tools, instruments, etc., as a hammer, a whip, etc. (f) A pole, especially a Maypole. [ Obs. ] Stow. (g) (Arch.) The body of a column; the cylindrical pillar between the capital and base (see Illust. of Column). Also, the part of a chimney above the roof. Also, the spire of a steeple. [ Obs. or R. ] Gwilt. (h) A column, an obelisk, or other spire-shaped or columnar monument. [ 1913 Webster ]

Bid time and nature gently spare
The shaft we raise to thee. Emerson. [ 1913 Webster ]

(i) (Weaving) A rod at the end of a heddle. (j) (Mach.) A solid or hollow cylinder or bar, having one or more journals on which it rests and revolves, and intended to carry one or more wheels or other revolving parts and to transmit power or motion; as, the shaft of a steam engine. See Illust. of Countershaft. [ 1913 Webster ]

4. (Zool.) A humming bird (Thaumastura cora) having two of the tail feathers next to the middle ones very long in the male; -- called also cora humming bird. [ 1913 Webster ]

5. [ Cf. G. schacht. ] (Mining) A well-like excavation in the earth, perpendicular or nearly so, made for reaching and raising ore, for raising water, etc. [ 1913 Webster ]

6. A long passage for the admission or outlet of air; an air shaft. [ 1913 Webster ]

7. The chamber of a blast furnace. [ 1913 Webster ]

Line shaft (Mach.), a main shaft of considerable length, in a shop or factory, usually bearing a number of pulleys by which machines are driven, commonly by means of countershafts; -- called also line, or main line. --
Shaft alley (Naut.), a passage extending from the engine room to the stern, and containing the propeller shaft. --
Shaft furnace (Metal.), a furnace, in the form of a chimney, which is charged at the top and tapped at the bottom. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. 1. Furnished with a shaft, or with shafts; as, a shafted arch. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. (Her.) Having a shaft; -- applied to a spear when the head and the shaft are of different tinctures. [ 1913 Webster ]