Emily Dickinson Lexicon

CHAS'A-BLE, a.

That may be chased; fit for the chase. – Gower.

CHASE, n.

1. Vehement pursuit; a running or driving after; as game, in hunting; a flying enemy, in war; a ship at sea, &c.
2. Pursuit with an ardent desire to obtain, as pleasure, profit, fame, &c.; earnest seeking.
3. That which may be chased; that which is usually taken by the chase; as, beasts of chase.
4. That which is pursued or hunted; as, seek some other chase. So at sea, a ship chased is called the chase.
5. In law, a driving of cattle to or from a place.
6. An open ground, or place of retreat for deer and other wild beasts; differing from a forest, which is not private property and is invested with privileges, and from a park which is inclosed. A chase is private property, and well stored with wild beasts or game.
7. [Fr. chasse; Sp. caxa; It. cassa. See Case and Cash.] An iron frame used by printers to confine types, when set in columns.
8. Chase of a gun, is the whole length of the bore.
9. A term in the game of tennis. Chase guns, in a ship of war, guns used in chasing an enemy or in defending a ship when chased. These have their ports at the head or stern. A gun at the head is called a bow-chase; at the stern, a stern-chase.

CHASE, v.t. [Fr. chasser; Arm. chaçzeal; Sp. cazar; Port. caçar; It. cacciare. The elements are Cg or Ck; and the change of a palatal to a sibilant resembles that in brace.]

1. Literally, to drive, urge, press forward with vehemence; hence, to pursue for the purpose of taking, as game; to hunt.
2. To pursue, or drive, as a defeated or flying enemy. – Lev. xxvi. 7. Deut. xxxii. 30.
3. To follow or pursue as an object of desire; to pursue for the purpose of taking; as, to chase a ship.
4. To drive; to pursue. Chased by their brother's endless malice. – Knolles. To chase away, is to compel to depart; to disperse. To chase metals. [See Enchase.]

CHAS'ED, pp.

Pursued; sought ardently; driven.

CHAS'ER, n.

1. One who chases; a pursuer; a driver; a hunter.
2. An enchaser. [See Enchase.]

CHAS'ING, ppr.

1. Pursuing; driving; hunting.
2. n. The act or art of embossing on metals.

CHASM, n. [s. as z. Gr. χασμα, L. chasma, from Gr. χαω, χασκω, χαινω, to open.]

1. A cleft; a fissure; a gap; properly, an opening made by disrupture, as a breach in the earth or a rock.
2. A void space; a vacuity. Between the two propositions, that the gospel is true, and that it is false, what a fearful chasm! The unsettled reason hovers over it in dismay. – Buckminster.

CHASM'ED, a.

Having gaps or a chasm.

CHASM'Y, a.

Abounding with chasms.

CHAS'SE-LAS, n.

A sort of grape.

CHAS'SEUR, n. [Fr. a huntsman.]

In military affairs, one of a body of cavalry, light and active, trained for rapid movements.

CHASTE, a. [Fr. chaste; Arm. chast; It. Sp. and Port. casto; from L. castus. Sax. cuse, D. kuisch, G. keusch, Sw. kysk, Russ. chistei, are probably from the same root. Qu. Ir. caidh. I suppose the primary sense to be, separate, from the Oriental practice of sequestering females. If so, castus accords with the root of castle, W. câs; and at any rate, the word denotes purity, a sense taken from separation.]

1. Pure from all unlawful commerce of sexes. Applied to persons before marriage, it signifies pure from all sexual commerce, undefiled; applied to married persons, true to the marriage bed.
2. Free from obscenity. While they behold your chaste conversation – 1 Pet iii.
3. In language, pure; genuine; uncorrupt; free from barbarous words and phrases, and from quaint, affected, extravagant expressions.

CHASTE'-EY-ED, a.

Having modest eyes. – Collins.

CHASTE'LY, adv.

In a chaste manner; without unlawful commerce of sexes; without obscenity; purely; without barbarisms or unnatural phrases.

CHAS'TEN, v.t. [cha'sn; Fr. châtier, for chastier; Arm. castien; Russ. chischu.]

1. To correct by punishment; to punish; to inflict pain for the purpose of reclaiming an offender; as, to chasten a son with a rod. I will chasten him with the rod of men. – 2 Sam. vii.
2. To afflict by other means. As many as I love I rebuke and chasten. – Rev. iii. I chastened my soul with fasting. – Ps. lxix.
3. To purify from errors or faults.

CHAS'TEN-ED, pp.

Corrected; punished; afflicted for correction.

CHAS'TEN-ER, n.

One who punishes, for the purpose of correction.

CHASTE'NESS, n.

Chastity; purity.

CHAS'TEN-ING, n.

Correction; punishment for the purpose of reclaiming. No chastening for the present seemeth to be joyous but grievous. – Heb. xii.

CHAS'TEN-ING, ppr.

Correcting; afflicting for correction.

CHASTE'-TREE, n.

The Agnus castus, or Vitex; a tree that grows to the highth of eight or ten feet, producing spikes of flowers at the end of every strong shoot in autumn. – Miller.

CHAS-TIS'A-BLE, a.

Deserving of chastisement. – Sherwood.

CHAS-TISE', v.t. [s as z. Fr. châtier; Arm. castiza, from chaste, castus. The Latin castigo, Sp. and Port. castigar, It. gastigare, are formed with a different termination. We have chastise from the Armoric dialect.]

1. To correct by punishing; to punish; to inflict pain by stripes, or in other manner, for the purpose of punishing an offender and recalling him to his duty. I will chastise you seven times for your sin. – Lev. xxvi.
2. To reduce to order or obedience; to restrain; to awe; to repress. The gay social sense, / By decency chastised. – Thomson.
3. To correct; to purify by expunging faults; as, to chastise a poem.

CHAS-TIS'ED, pp.

Punished; corrected.

CHAS'TISE-MENT, n. [Fr. châtiment; Arm. castiz; from chaste.]

Correction; punishment; pain inflicted for punishment and correction, either by stripes or otherwise. Shall I so much dishonor my fair stars, / On equal terms to give him chastisement. – Shak. I have borne chastisement, I will not offend any more. – Job. xxxiv. The chastisement of our peace, in Scripture, was the pain which Christ suffered to purchase our peace and reconciliation to God. Is. liii.