Emily Dickinson Lexicon

CHAS-TIS'ER, n.

One who chastises; a punisher; a corrector.

CHAS-TIS'ING, ppr.

Punishing for correction; correcting.

CHAS'TI-TY, n. [L. castitas; Fr. chasteté; Sp. castidad; It. castità; from L. castus, chaste.]

1. Purity of the body; freedom from all unlawful commerce of sexes. Before marriage, purity from all commerce of sexes; after marriage, fidelity to the marriage bed.
2. Freedom from obscenity, as in language or conversation.
3. Freedom from bad mixture; purity in words and phrases.
4. Purity; unadulterated state; as, the chastity of the Gospel. – Gibbon.

CHAS'U-BLE, n.

The part of a priest's habit, worn over the alb when he says mass.

CHAT, n.¹

Free, familiar talk; idle talk; prate.

CHAT, n.²

A twig, or little stick. [See Chit.]

CHAT, v.i. [G. kosen, to talk, or prattle; Ir. ceadach, talkative; ceadac, a story or narrative; Sp. cotorra, a magpie; cotorrera, a hen-parrot, a talkative woman; Gr. κωτιλλω, to prate; D. koeteren, to jabber, and kwetteren, to chatter; kouten, id.]

1. To talk in a familiar manner; to talk without form or ceremony. – Milton. Dryden.
2. To talk idly; to prate. – Johnson.

CHAT, v.t.

To talk of. [Not in use.] – Shak.

CHAT'EAU, n. [shat'o; Fr. a castle. See Castle.]

A castle; a seat in the country.

CHAT'E-LET, n.

A little castle. – Chambers.

CHAT'EL-LA-NY, n. [Fr. chatellenie.]

The lordship or jurisdiction of a castellan, or governor of a castle. [See Castellany.]

CHA-TOY'ANT, a. [Fr. chat, cat, and œil, eye.]

Having a changeable, undulating luster, or color, like that of a cat's eye in the dark.

CHA-TOY'ANT, n.

A hard stone, a little transparent, which being cut smooth presents on its surface and in the interior, an undulating or wavy light. It is of a yellowish gray color or verging to an olive green. It rarely exceeds the size of a filbert. – Dict. of Nat. Hist.

CHA-TOY'MENT, n.

Changeable colors, or changeableness of color, in a mineral; play of colors. – Cleaveland.

CHAT'TAH, n.

In India, an umbrella.

CHAT'TED, pp.

Spoken familiarly, or on light subjects.

CHAT'TEL, n. [chat'l; See Cattle.]

Primarily, any article of movable goods. In modern usage, the word chattels comprehends all goods, movable or immovable, except such as have the nature of freehold. “Chattels are real or personal. Chattels real, are such as concern or savor of the realty, as a term for years of land, wardships in chivalry, the next presentation to a church, estates by statute merchant, elegit, and the like. Chattels personal, are things movable, as animals, furniture of a house, jewels, corn, &c.” – Blackstone.

CHAT'TER, n.

Sounds like those of a pie or monkey; idle talk.

CHAT'TER, v.i. [See Chat.]

1. To utter sounds rapidly and indistinctly, as a magpie, or a monkey.
2. To make a noise by collision of the teeth. We say, the teeth chatter when one is chilly and shivering.
3. To talk idly, carelessly or rapidly; to jabber.

CHAT'TER-BOX, n.

One that talks incessantly.

CHAT'TER-ER, n.

A prater; an idle talker.

CHAT'TER-ING, n.

Rapid, inarticulate sounds, as of birds; idle talk; rapid striking of the teeth, as in chilliness.

CHAT'TER-ING, ppr.

Uttering rapid, indistinct sounds, as birds; talking idly; moving rapidly and clashing, as the teeth.

CHAT'TING, ppr.

Talking familiarly.

CHAT'TY, a.

Given to free conversation; talkative.