chair

English Online Dictionary. What means chair‎? What does chair mean?

English

Alternative forms

• chur (Bermuda)

Etymology

From Middle English chayer, chaire, chaiere, chaere, chayre, chayere, from Old French chaiere, chaere, from Latin cathedra (“seat”), from Ancient Greek καθέδρα (kathédra), from κατά (katá, “down”) + ἕδρα (hédra, “seat”). Displaced native stool and settle, which now have more specialised senses. Doublet of cathedra and chaise.

Pronunciation

• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /t͡ʃɛə(ɹ)/
• (General American) IPA^(key): /t͡ʃɛɚ/
• (dialectal or obsolete) IPA^(key): /t͡ʃɪə(ɹ)/
• Rhymes: -ɛə(ɹ)
• Homophone: chare

Noun

chair (plural chairs)

2. An item of furniture used to sit on or in, comprising a seat, legs or wheels, back, and sometimes arm rests, for use by one person.
4. (often with definite article, also written Chair) Clipping of chairperson.
6. (music) The seating position of a particular musician in an orchestra.

8. (rail transport) An iron block used on railways to support the rails and secure them to the sleepers, and similar devices.
10. (organic chemistry, physical chemistry) One of two possible conformers of cyclohexane rings (the other being boat), shaped roughly like a chair.
12. (informal, with the) Ellipsis of electric chair (“device used for performing execution”).
14. (education) A distinguished professorship at a university.
16. A vehicle for one person; either a sedan borne upon poles, or a two-wheeled carriage drawn by one horse; a gig.
18. The seat or office of a person in authority, such as a judge or bishop.
19. An assigned position in a beauty salon or barbershop.

Derived terms

Related terms

• (furniture): stool, couch, sofa, settee, loveseat, bench.

Descendants

• → Assamese: চেয়াৰ (sear)
• → Bengali: চেয়ার (ceẏar), চ্যায়ার (cêẏar), চ্যার (cêr) — obsolete
• → Odia: ଚେଆର୍ (ceār), ଚିୟାର୍ (ciyār), ଚିଆର (ciāra)
• → Sylheti: ꠌꠤꠀꠞ (siar)
• Tok Pisin: sea, sia
• → Tongan: sea

Translations

Verb

chair (third-person singular simple present chairs, present participle chairing, simple past and past participle chaired)

2. (transitive) To act as chairperson at; to preside over.
4. (transitive) To carry in a seated position upon one's shoulders, especially in celebration or victory.
6. (transitive, Wales, UK) To award a chair to (a winning poet) at a Welsh eisteddfod.

Translations

References

Anagrams

• Archi, Chira, archi-

French

Etymology

Inherited from Middle French chair, char, from Old French char, charn (earlier carn), from Latin carnem, from Proto-Italic *karō, from Proto-Indo-European *ker-, *(s)ker-. Doublet of carne.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ʃɛʁ/
• Rhymes: -ɛʁ
• Homophones: chaire, chaires, chairs, cher, chers, chère, chères, cherres

Noun

chair f (plural chairs)

1. flesh

Derived terms

Related terms

Descendants

• Haitian Creole: chè
• → Swedish: skär

Further reading

• “chair”, in Trésor de la langue française informatisé [Digitized Treasury of the French Language], 2012.

Gallo

Verb

chair

1. Alternative form of chaeir

Manx

Adjective

chair

1. Lenited form of cair.

Noun

chair f

1. Lenited form of cair.

Mutation

Middle French

Alternative forms

• char

Etymology

From Old French char, charn, from Latin carnem, accusative singular of carō.

Noun

chair f (plural chairs)

1. flesh

Descendants

• French: chair

Old French

Verb

chair

1. Alternative form of cheoir