Emily Dickinson Lexicon

CHARGE, n. [Fr. charge; Arm. and W. carg; Sp. carga, cargo; Port. carga, carrega; It. carica, carco; Eng. cargo.]

1. That which is laid on or in; in a general sense, any load or burden. It is the same word radically as cargo.
2. The quantity of powder, or of powder and ball or shot, used to load a musket, cannon, or other like instrument.
3. An onset; a rushing on an enemy; attack; especially by moving troops with fixed bayonets. But it is used for an onset of cavalry as well as of infantry.
4. An order, injunction, mandate, command. Moses gave Joshua a charge. – Numb. xxvii. The king gave charge concerning Absalom. – 2 Sam. xviii. Hence,
5. That which is enjoined, committed, intrusted or delivered to another, implying care, custody, oversight, or duty to be performed by the person intrusted. I gave Hanani charge over Jerusalem. – Neh. vii. Hence the word includes any trust or commission; an office, duty, employment. It is followed by of or over; more generally by of. Hence,
6. The person or thing committed to another's custody, care or management; a trust. Thus the people of a parish are called the minister's charge. The starry guardian drove his charge away To some fresh pasture. – Dryden.
7. Instructions given by a judge to a jury, or by a bishop to his clergy. The word may be used as synonymous with command, direction, exhortation or injunction, but always implies solemnity.
8. Imputation in a bad sense; accusation. Lay not this sin to their charge. – Acts vii.
9. That which constitutes debt, in commercial transactions; an entry of money or the price of goods, on the debit side of an account.
10. Cost; expense; as, the charges of the war are to be borne by the nation.
11. Imposition on land or estate; rent, tax, or whatever constitutes a burden or duty.
12. In military affairs, a signal to attack; as to sound the charge.
13. The posture of a weapon fitted for an attack or combat. Their armed slaves in charge. – Shak.
14. Among farriers, a preparation of the consistence of a thick decoction, or between an ointment and a plaster, used as a remedy for sprains and inflammations.
15. In heraldry, that which is borne upon the color; or the figures represented on the escutcheon, by which the bearers are distinguished from one another.
16. In electrical experiments, a quantity of electrical fluid, communicated to a coated jar, vial or pane of glass.
17. In painting, charge or overcharge is an exaggeration of character in form, color or expression. – Elmes. A charge of lead, is thirty-six pigs, each containing six stone, wanting two pounds.