char

C2+ Topic:Actions & Processes

US /tʃɑr/ UK /tʃɑː/ See IPA manual

Meanings

1

verb
to scorch or burn so as to blacken the surface

Grill the peppers until their skins char and blister.

Verb forms

Verb forms are not available for this word yet.

Thesaurus

Synonyms

1 verb · to scorch or burn so as to... scorch singe sear burn blacken carbonize

Word family

Derived forms charredcharring

Related forms charcoal

Simplified etymology

Char, a slang term for tea, comes from Mandarin chá and has been used in English since the late 16th century. It is related to Min Chinese té, the source of English tea.

Etymology

A back-formation from charcoal, of obscure origin; the first element may relate to Old English cerran ('to turn') or to chare/char ('a turn of work'). The verb means to reduce to charcoal by burning.

Topics

Actions & Processes

External links

# char

**Type:** Word
**Level:** C2+
**Part of speech:** verb
**IPA (US):** /tʃɑr/
**IPA (UK):** /tʃɑː/

## Meanings
1. to scorch or burn so as to blacken the surface

## Examples
- Grill the peppers until their skins char and blister.

## Synonyms
- scorch
- singe
- sear
- burn
- blacken
- carbonize

## Derived Forms
- charred
- charring

## Related Forms
- charcoal

## Etymology
A back-formation from charcoal, of obscure origin; the first element may relate to Old English cerran ('to turn') or to chare/char ('a turn of work'). The verb means to reduce to charcoal by burning.

## AI Etymology
Char is a back-formation from charcoal, of obscure origin; the first element may relate to Old English cerran ('to turn') or to chare/char ('a turn of work'). The verb means to reduce to charcoal by burning. The history must be left partly open, preserving the uncertainty rather than forcing a single unsupported ancestry. Used as a verb and noun, char now means "scorch or burn so as to blacken the surface", so the present definition can be read against the older forms and meanings. The same lexical family is also visible in derived forms such as charred and charring and related forms such as charcoal. That uncertainty is part of the entry: the safest account is the attested form and the limited comparisons preserved with it.

## Topics
- Actions & Processes

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