chaff C2+ Topic:Plants & Agriculture Also spelled a-chaffin and caffin US /tʃæf/ UK /tʃɑːf/ See IPA manual Meanings 1 noun the husks of grain separated from the seed; worthless matter; to tease Winnowing separates the grain from the chaff. Thesaurus Synonyms 1 noun · the husks of grain... huskstrashrefusedrossteasebanterribmock ↔ Opposites grainwheat Word family Derived forms chaffychaffer Etymology AI details From Old English ceaf ('husks of grain'), from Proto-Germanic *kaf-, of uncertain ultimate origin. The verb sense 'to tease' may be a separate or jocular development. ceaf Old English *kaf- Proto-Germanic View etymology graph -> Topics Plants & Agriculture External links Cambridge Dictionary Wiktionary Google Images # chaff **Type:** Word **Level:** C2+ **Part of speech:** noun **IPA (US):** /tʃæf/ **IPA (UK):** /tʃɑːf/ ## Meanings 1. the husks of grain separated from the seed; worthless matter; to tease ## Examples - Winnowing separates the grain from the chaff. ## Synonyms - husks - trash - refuse - dross - tease - banter - rib - mock ## Antonyms - grain - wheat ## Derived Forms - chaffy - chaffer ## Roots and Affixes - Root: ceaf - Root: *kaf- ## Etymology From Old English ceaf ('husks of grain'), from Proto-Germanic *kaf-, of uncertain ultimate origin. The verb sense 'to tease' may be a separate or jocular development. ## AI Etymology Chaff is a noun and verb meaning "the husks of grain separated from the seed; worthless matter; to tease". Historically, it is from Old English ceaf ('husks of grain'), from Proto-Germanic *kaf-, of uncertain ultimate origin. The verb sense 'to tease' may be a separate or jocular development. The older history should therefore be treated cautiously rather than as settled. The semantic history matters here: the earlier use is the starting point, and the modern sense, "the husks of grain separated from the seed; worthless matter; to tease", is the later or specialized English value. The historical chain links Old English ceaf with Proto-Germanic *kaf-. Close English family members include chaffy, and chaffer. ## Topics - Plants & Agriculture markdown