chargen.
/tʃɑːdʒ/, U.S. /tʃɑrdʒ/ I. A material load; that which can be borne, taken, or received.† 1. figurative.1858 J. Martineau Stud. Christianity 269 [They will] accumulate fresh charges of threatening power in the intellectual atmosphere which surrounds the church.
a. A (material) load, burden, weight. Obsolete.
ΘΚΠ
the world > matter > properties of materials > weight or relative heaviness > [noun] > weight as regards transport
charge?c1225
portage1639
port1660
society > travel > transport > [noun] > of loads > a load
ladec897
seamc950
lastOE
burdena1000
charge?c1225
load?c1225
burnc1375
draughta1400
summerc1400
portage1445
pauchlea1450
fraughtc1450
freightc1503
loadinga1513
carriage1597
ballast1620
cargo1657
porterage1666
freightage1823
smalls1846
journey1859
send-off1909
payload1914
?c1225 (?a1200) Ancrene Riwle (Cleo. C.vi) (1972) 112 He wes bute charge & teiȝede for þi an clod of eorðe to hire.
1297 R. Gloucester's Chron. (1724) 416 So heuy charge of wayn.
c1330 R. Mannyng Chron. (1810) 169 So mykelle was þat barge..& so heuy of charge.
1382 Bible (Wycliffite, E.V.) 2 Kings viii. 9 Fourty chamel chaargis [a1425 L.V. the burthuns of fourti camels].
c1400 Rom. Rose 1352 Of fruyt hadde every tree his charge.
1488 (c1478) Hary Actis & Deidis Schir William Wallace (Adv.) (1968–9) viii. l. 396 He had leuer haiff had him at his large..than off fyne gold to carge [1570 charge] Mar than in Troy was fund.
1509 S. Hawes Pastime of Pleasure xix. xxii The shyp was great, fyve c. tonne to charge.
1638 T. Heywood Wise Woman ii. i, in Wks. (1874) V. 300 Having a charge of money about me.
1700 Moxon's Mech. Exercises: Bricklayers-wks. 19 This charge, or weight, will be stopped, or stayed by the Inverse Arches.
1704 J. Harris Lexicon Technicum I. at Charge An unweildy Ship..is a Ship of Charge.
b. ‘ charge of lead.’This is merely a mistake of Bailey's for Charre of Lead, used in Scotland in 14th cent., explained by Cowel in his Interpreter, whence it passed into succeeding Law dictionaries, and into Kersey 1708–21. See char n.2 2. Bailey's error is duly perpetuated in modern Dictionaries, as if charge of lead were a current expression.
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1721 N. Bailey Universal Etymol. Eng. Dict. (at cited word) A charge of Lead is 36 Pigs, each containing six Stone wanting two Pound.
2. The action of loading a vessel, etc. ? Obsolete.
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society > travel > travel by water > transportation by water > [noun] > loading or unloading cargo > loading
lading1500
naulizament1533
charge1540
freightage1694
loading1803
1540 Act 32 Hen. VIII c. 14 Any hauen, porte or rode of charge or discharge.
3.
a. The quantity of powder, or (more loosely, with sportsmen, etc.) of powder and shot, with which a firearm is loaded for one discharge. See bursting charge n. at bursting n. Compounds.
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society > armed hostility > military equipment > weapon > missile > ammunition for firearms > [noun] > charge
shoot1645
charge1653
round1680
load1692
shot1708
recharge1728
feed1839
1653 H. Cogan tr. F. M. Pinto Voy. & Adventures xli. §2. 162 Artillery, or Cannons of wood..behind the which they put boxes of iron, that held their charge.
1669 S. Sturmy Mariners Mag. ii. v. xi. §1. 46 To tell readily how much Powder is a due Charge for any Piece.
1846 W. Greener Sci. Gunnery (new ed.) 327 One half of the musket charge will escape past the ball during its passage up the barrel.
1857 D. Livingstone Missionary Trav. S. Afr. xviii. 331 A single charge of gunpowder.
1863 H. W. Bates Naturalist on River Amazons II. i. 57 After watching the animal for about half an hour I gave him a charge of shot.
Categories »
b. So Mining. A quantity of gunpowder or other explosive used in blasting.
c. slang. A dose or injection of a drug; marijuana, esp. a marijuana cigarette. Originally U.S.
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the world > physical sensation > use of drugs and poison > an intoxicating drug > [noun] > a dose of
jolt1916
bhang1922
charge1929
fix1934
fix-up1934
joy-pop1939
hit1951
spoon1968
the world > physical sensation > use of drugs and poison > an intoxicating drug > [noun] > a) narcotic drug(s) > marijuana or cannabis > cigarette
weed1917
stick1918
spliff1929
weed1929
reefer1931
joint1935
muggler1935
ju-ju1940
mezzroll1944
panatela1946
bomber1952
charge1957
bomb1960
number1963
doobie1967
smoke1967
cheeba1971
Thai stick1976
blunt1988
bifter1989
1929 C. G. Givens in Sat. Evening Post 13 Apr. 54/4 An addict..is a bangster, and a bang is a load, a charge or a hyp of the drug he uses.
1957 C. MacInnes City of Spades i. v. 21 ‘I saw you grew charge out there...’ ‘You want to smoke some?’
1958 F. Norman Bang to Rights 174 Quite a lot of spooks get done for takeing charge.
1959 Streetwalker iv. 68 Relaxing under the influence of charge, marijhuana.
1969 Melody Maker 13 Sept. 6 Club promoters are worried that hippies could close them down by smoking charge on the premises.
d. U.S. slang. A thrill; a feeling of excitement or satisfaction; a ‘kick’; esp. in to get a charge out of.
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the mind > emotion > excitement > pleasurable excitement > affect with pleasurable excitement [verb (transitive)] > get thrill of pleasurable excitement from
to get a charge out of1951
1951 S. J. Perelman in New Yorker 3 Mar. 28/3 What kind of an old creep'd get a charge out of this stuff?
1959 W. Brown Cry Kill x. 108 He was getting a charge out of being close to something big.
1963 N.Y. Times Mag. 5 May 117 (advt.) It seems to me that people get a bigger charge out of their grandchildren than they did from their own offspring.
4. gen. The quantity of anything which a receptacle, a piece of mechanism, etc. is fitted or constructed to bear, take in, or receive; e.g. the quantity of coal which a gas-retort takes in, the quantity of ore, etc. put into a furnace at one heat, etc., etc.
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the world > relative properties > measurement > the scientific measurement of volume > measure(s) of capacity > amount defined by capacity > [noun] > amount that fills a receptacle
fill1555
charge1672
1672 I. Newton in Philos. Trans. (Royal Soc.) 7 5097 By that means the Microscope will..bear a deeper Charge.
1712 A. Pope Rape of Locke ii, in Misc. Poems 372 A Charge of Snuff the wily Virgin threw.
1832 G. R. Porter Treat. Manuf. Porcelain & Glass 165 The opening through which the charge was introduced.
1858–75 A. Ure Dict. Arts III. 55 The charge [of lead-ore] employed varies in almost every establishment. In the North smaller charges are used than in most other localities. At Newcastle, the charge varies from 12 to 14 cwts...in Cornwall, charges of 30 cwt. are not unfrequently worked.
1881 Trans. Amer. Inst. Mining Engineers 1880–1 9 117 Charge, the materials introduced at one time or one round into a furnace.
5. An accumulation of electricity in a Leyden jar, electric battery, etc., which may be again discharged. Also used of the electrical property of particles of matter.
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the world > matter > physics > electromagnetic radiation > electricity > electric charge, electricity > [noun] > dischargeable accumulation
charge1767
the world > matter > physics > atomic physics > ion > [noun] > electrical property of particles
electric charge1771
charge1891
1767 J. Priestley Hist. & Present State Electr. 527 A full charge of two or three thousand square feet of coated glass would give a shock as great as a single common flash of lightning.
1782 Brook in Philos. Trans. (Royal Soc.) 72 387 No glass to be charged, as we call it, with electricity, will bear a greater charge than, etc.
1885 H. W. Watson & S. H. Burbury Math. Theory Electr. & Magn. I. 89 The algebraic sum of all the electricity on the surface of a conductor is called the charge on the conductor.
1891 G. J. Stoney in Trans. Royal Dublin Soc. 4 583 A charge of this amount is associated in the chemical atom with each bond...These charges, which it will be convenient to call electrons, cannot be removed from the atom; but they become disguised when atoms chemically unite.
1927 N. V. Sidgwick Electronic Theory of Valency 11 The charge on the nucleus—the atomic number—determines the number of electrons which surround it.
1955 W. Pauli in W. Pauli Niels Bohr & Devel. Physics 32 The charge-density for spin ½-particles is positive-definite in the c-number theory.
1955 W. Pauli in W. Pauli Niels Bohr & Devel. Physics 32 The postulate of charge-symmetry.
1956 G. Thomson Atom (ed. 5) i. 6 A proton has the same kind of charge as a positively charged body.
6. Heraldry. Any device ‘charged’ or borne upon an escutcheon; a bearing.
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society > communication > indication > insignia > heraldic devices collective > charge: device on shield > [noun]
bearing1562
prise1572
formality?1578
charge1599
armorial bearings1610
1599 F. Thynne Animaduersions (1875) 15 Chaucers armes are not so meane, eyther for coolour, Chardge, or particione as some will make them.
1610 J. Guillim Display of Heraldrie ii. iii. 42 A Charge, is that thing whatsoeuer that doth occupy the Field.
1642 T. Fuller Holy State i. xv. 47 This to my Elder Brother I must yield, I have the Charge but he hath all the Field.
1876 D. Rock Textile Fabrics (new ed.) vi. 56 To introduce many heraldic charges.
7. Farriery. A thick adhesive plaster applied to the body of a horse.
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the world > health and disease > healing > veterinary medicine and surgery > [noun] > medicines or applications > medicines or applications for horses
garum1587
charge1607
horse-mithridate1614
horse-drencha1616
arman1639
white water1673
remolade1696
nitre-ball1753
thrush-paste1888
mallein1891
grease-ball1926
bute1968
1607 E. Topsell Hist. Foure-footed Beastes 369 Then lay on this charge following.
1708 London Gaz. No. 4495/4 He had, when lost, a hot charge laid on with Deer's Hair on every Leg.
1831 W. Youatt Horse xiv. 257 A charge, or very strong adhesive plaister, across the haunch may be useful.
1831 W. Youatt Horse xxiii. 388 The following mixture makes a good charge.
II. A load of trouble, expense, responsibility, blame, etc.
* of trouble.
8. figurative.
a. A burden, load, weight (of trouble, inconvenience, etc.). Obsolete.
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the world > action or operation > difficulty > hindrance > types or manners of hindrance > [noun] > encumberment > burdensomeness > a burden
burdenc971
chargec1300
packa1325
burnc1375
fardelc1380
weightc1380
carriagea1556
load1600
taxa1628
overpoise1697
dead weight1720
backload1725
millstone1787
tin kettle1796
nightmare-weight1847
ball and chain1855
c1300 K. Alis. 7292 He n'ul that youre barouns..No beore charge of all this.
c1384 Bible (Wycliffite, E.V.) (Douce 369(2)) (1850) Matt. xx. 12 To vs, that han born the charge of the day and hete.
1484 W. Caxton tr. G. de la Tour-Landry Bk. Knight of Tower (1971) lxxxvii. 118 Which shalle be in grete charge and payne to gyue a good ansuere.
1509 A. Barclay Brant's Shyp of Folys (Pynson) f. lxi Folowe vertue, and leue charges mundayne.
b. concrete. Anything burdensome; a source of trouble or inconvenience.
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1713 R. Steele in Guardian 12 Mar. 2/2 The Charge of Intelligence, the Pain in compiling and digesting my Thoughts.
1849 W. M. Thackeray Pendennis (1850) I. xxxii. 317 Thank God!.. I needn't be a charge upon the old mother.
** of importance.† 9. figurative.† b. In such phrases as it is no charge, it is of no importance, it does not matter; to make, give, have no charge, to make of no account, not to care (const. of or with clause). (Cf. charge v. 20.)
a. Moral weight, importance, moment. Obsolete.
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c1385 G. Chaucer Legend Good Women 620 Thyng that beryth more effect & charge.
c1400 Mandeville's Trav. xxii. 243 Thus anon hathe he hasty tydynges of ony thing, that berethe charge.
1485 W. Caxton tr. Thystorye & Lyf Charles the Grete sig. biiij/1 Occupyed in maters of charge and weyghty.
1599 W. Shakespeare Romeo & Juliet v. ii. 18 The Letter was not nice but full of charge, Of deare import. View more context for this quotation
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c1384 Bible (Wycliffite, E.V.) (Douce 369(2)) (1850) Matt. xxii. 16 There is no cure, or charge, to thee of eny man [a1425 L.V. thou chargist not of ony man].
c1386 G. Chaucer Squire's Tale 359 Dreem of which ther nys no charge.
c1400 (?c1390) Sir Gawain & Green Knight (1940) l. 1940 Of þe chepe no charg.
c1420 Pallad. on Husb. i. 744 For hay..Make housyng as the list; it is noo charge [L. non refert].
c1440 W. Hylton Scala Perfeccionis (1494) vi He..makith noo charge what comyth of hymself.
1481 W. Caxton tr. Myrrour of Worlde i. iv. 13 They retched not ne had no charge of suche goodis.
*** Pecuniary.
10. † e. to be at charge or at charges: to undergo (great) expense; to bear the expense or cost. So also, to be at the charge(s of. Obsolete.
a. Pecuniary burden; expense, cost. archaic.
ΘΚΠ
society > trade and finance > management of money > expenditure > [noun] > expenses
costningc1275
spense1297
costagesa1325
misesa1325
spenses1377
dispensec1380
expensesc1384
pensiona1387
costsc1390
resaillec1450
chargec1460
charges1514
outgiving1556
disbursement1607
going-outs1607
defalcation1622
outgoing1622
expense1632
outgoa1641
damage1755
outset1755
expenditure1791
outspend1859
ex1864
paid-out1883
outs1884
x's1894
c1460 J. Fortescue Governance of Eng. (1885) vi. (heading) Ordynaunces for the Kyngs Ordenarye Chargys.
c1522 T. More Treat. Memorare Nouissima in Wks. (1557) I. 90 Thou hast lytle money & much charge.
1595 J. Davis Worldes Hydrogr. Discription sig. B5v The Globe which master Sanderson to his verye great charge hath published.
1653 I. Walton Compl. Angler iii. 79 'Tis the company and not the charge that makes the feast. View more context for this quotation
1669 J. Worlidge Systema Agriculturæ (1681) 265 January..is the rich mans charge, and the poor mans misery.
1727 A. Hamilton New Acct. E. Indies II. xlii. 114 The Profits can hardly bear the Charge.
1791 J. Smeaton Narr. Edystone Lighthouse §118 When the..certain charge of the Out-fit was duly taken into consideration.
1842 T. B. Macaulay Frederic the Great in Ess. (1854) II. 673/1 The whole charge of his kitchen was brought within the sum of two thousand pounds sterling a year.
1849 T. B. Macaulay Hist. Eng. I. 593 A small body guard of forty young men, well armed and mounted at their own charge, attended Monmouth.
b. The price required or demanded for service rendered, or (less usually) for goods supplied.
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society > trade and finance > charges > [noun]
shotc1475
charge1817
base rate1869
1817 S. R. Brown Western Gazetteer 90 The taverns are well kept, and charges reasonable.
1849 T. B. Macaulay Hist. Eng. I. 388 The charge for conveying a single letter was twopence for eighty miles, and threepence for a longer distance.
1853 E. Bulwer-Lytton My Novel III. x. xx. 203 His charges, too, are moderate.
1875 W. S. Jevons Money (1878) 117 The bank is always willing to do the work for fixed low charges.
1889 N.E.D. at Charge Mod. What is the charge for admittance? He declined to make a charge, but left it to us to pay what we thought proper.
c. plural. Expenses: often with sense scarcely or not at all distinguishable from the singular. archaic.
ΘΚΠ
society > trade and finance > management of money > expenditure > [noun] > expenses
costningc1275
spense1297
costagesa1325
misesa1325
spenses1377
dispensec1380
expensesc1384
pensiona1387
costsc1390
resaillec1450
chargec1460
charges1514
outgiving1556
disbursement1607
going-outs1607
defalcation1622
outgoing1622
expense1632
outgoa1641
damage1755
outset1755
expenditure1791
outspend1859
ex1864
paid-out1883
outs1884
x's1894
society > trade and finance > management of money > expenditure > [noun] > expenses > incidental or additional
oncost1429
uncostc1480
charges1514
by-charge1525
pretereas?a1527
extraordinary1660
incident1737
1514 in J. T. Smith & L. T. Smith Eng. Gilds (1870) 145 Atte custages and charges of the seid Maister and brethern of the seid Gilde.
1594 W. Shakespeare Henry VI, Pt. 2 i. i. 59 Sent ouer of the King of Englands owne proper cost and charges.
1653 I. Walton Compl. Angler ii. 44 I'll bear your charges this night, and you shall beare mine to morrow. View more context for this quotation
1662 B. Gerbier Brief Disc. Princ. Building 25 Builders ought to calculate the Charges of their designed Building.
1740 tr. C. Rollin Anc. Hist. (ed. 2) VII. 78 To defray the charges of his funeral.
1783 Bailey's Universal Etymol. Eng. Dict. (ed. 25) Cadet, Cadee, one that serves as a volunteer in the wars upon his own charges.
1846 W. M. Thackeray Notes Journey Cornhill to Cairo ii. 26 A..cathedral, built by the present bishop at his own charges.
d. Commerce. Expenses incidental upon business or commercial operations, especially such as do not come under other particular headings of the Profit and Loss Account.
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1546 O. Johnson in H. Ellis Orig. Lett. Eng. Hist. ii. 143 II. 174 Whom I have allowed for freight and charges of the same thiether.
1875 W. S. Jevons Money (1878) 17 Tolls, fees, and tariffs of charges.
1889 N.E.D. at Charge Mod. An analysis of the General Charges Account.
ΘΚΠ
society > trade and finance > management of money > expenditure > spend or incur expense [verb (intransitive)]
spenec1175
spend1297
to do or make (the) cost(s)c1325
costc1384
to be at charge or at charges?1542
to be at cost?1548
to spend and be spent1611
disburse1615
to lug out1684
tap1712
part1864
society > trade and finance > payment > pay money or things [verb (transitive)] > bear or defray the cost of
quitc1275
maintaina1425
pay1446
fray1450
abye1503
price?a1513
be1520
to stand to ——1540
disburse1548
defray1581
discharge1587
reimburse1591
discount1647
to be at the charge(s of1655
to pay off1711
stand1808
pop1947
?1542 H. Brinkelow Complaynt Roderyck Mors vii. sig. C1 Nexte terme, he must be at charge to come vp.
1597 W. Shakespeare Richard III i. ii. 242 Ile be at charges for a looking glasse. View more context for this quotation
1655 T. Stanley Hist. Philos. I. iii. 82 These live sparingly, Are never at the charges of..a Barber, Unguents, or Baths.
1714 R. Steele Lover (1723) i. 7 As I am a young Author..he would not be at that Charge.
1745 P. Thomas True Jrnl. Voy. South-Seas 212 That the Court should be at great Charges for this Pomp.
11. A liability to pay money laid upon a person or estate.
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society > trade and finance > charges > [noun] > liability to pay
charge?1577
?1577 F. T. Debate Pride & Lowlines sig. Bv To setten downe a bill of charge.
1641 Rastell's Termes de la Ley (new ed.) f. 54 Charge is where a Man granteth a Rent issuing out of his ground..this is called a Rent-charge.
1827 T. Jarman Powell's Ess. Learning of Devises (ed. 3) II. 51 They do not furnish a single case of such a charge failing in event by the death of the devisee in the devisor's life time.
1845 J. R. McCulloch Treat. Taxation i. iv. 114 Whether the same proportional charge should be made on incomes of 100l. or 500l. a-year, as on those of 1000l. or 5000l.?
1845 J. R. McCulloch Treat. Taxation ii. viii. 309 A mere charge by one government department against others.
1858 Ld. St. Leonards Handy Bk. Prop. Law xxiv. 184 Limitation has..been put upon proceedings to recover charges on the estate.
1885 Act 48 & 49 Victoria c. 54 §11 Any mortgage or charge duly created..upon the profits of any benefice.
**** Responsibility, care.
12. A task or duty laid upon one; commission, trust, responsibility; an office entrusted to one.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > attention and judgement > importance > [noun] > other
charge1393
instantness1548
importance1603
stamp1632
amount1678
consequence1793
monumentality1884
relevance1935
society > authority > delegated authority > [noun] > a commission given to anyone
carkc1330
charge1393
commissionc1450
charche1534
credit1537
commandment1592
missure1615
assignmentc1848
commish1856
society > morality > duty or obligation > [noun] > a duty or moral necessity > a charge, trust, or duty
charge1393
charche1534
onus1626
entrustment1634
1393 J. Gower Confessio Amantis II. 393.
a1400 (a1325) Cursor Mundi (Fairf. 14) l. 20790 He wille take na charge on him.
1477 W. Caxton tr. R. Le Fèvre Hist. Jason (1913) 36 Iason thenne began to thenke on the grete honour and charge that he hadde receyuid.
1597 R. Hooker Of Lawes Eccl. Politie v. lxxviii. 235 Whose meere function or charge is the seruice of God.
1649 J. Milton Tenure of Kings 41 Pastors..[have] a dreadfull charge, not performd by..a formal preachment.
1754 Earl of Chatham Lett. to Nephew (1804) iii. 14 Your tutor..I dare say he is every way equal to such a charge.
1810 T. Jefferson Writings (1830) IV. 151 It is incumbent on those who accept great charges, to risk themselves on great occasions.
1885 Manch. Examiner 10 Jan. 5/2 He is now obliged by ill-health to seek a less burdensome charge, and the living becomes vacant. [Cf. 14.]
13.
a. The duty or responsibility of taking care of (a person or thing); care, custody, superintendence. Phrase, to have, take, give (the) charge of. Also, to take charge: colloquial (of a thing) to get out of control and act automatically, esp. with disastrous or destructive effect.
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the world > action or operation > safety > protection or defence > care, protection, or charge > [noun]
lookingc1300
keepingc1380
charge1389
keepa1400
procuration?a1425
charchec1426
tuition1436
recommendation1483
fostera1500
sussy1513
carec1540
overlooking1565
regard1596
overview1598
accurance1677
protectiveness1847
protectingness1852
the world > action or operation > safety > protection or defence > care, protection, or charge > care for, protect, or have charge of [verb (transitive)] > assume care, protection, or custody of
undernimc1175
undertakec1300
to have, take, give (the) charge of1389
godfather1651
to have, take in charge1785
society > authority > control > [verb (transitive)] > have charge of
redeOE
steer13..
agyea1450
rulea1500
tend?1521
to have, take, give (the) charge of1611
work1841
the world > action or operation > safety > protection or defence > care, protection, or charge > care for, protect, or have charge of [verb (transitive)]
hold971
yemeOE
biwitc1000
keepa1325
wait1362
tentc1400
attendc1420
to take guard1426
tend?1521
to have the care of1579
to have, take, give (the) charge of1611
mind1640
to have, take in charge1665
tutor1682
attend1796
shepherda1822
mother1851
society > authority > control > [verb (transitive)] > have charge of > take charge of
to have, take, give (the) charge of1611
to take in tow1722
1389 in J. T. Smith & L. T. Smith Eng. Gilds (1870) 5 He shal take þe charge al sone as he is warned þerof.
1483 Cath. Angl. 59 A charge, cura.
1495 Rolls of Parl.: Henry VII (Electronic ed.) Parl. Oct. 1495 §62. m. 33 A maister ship carpynter taking the charge of the werke.
1535 Bible (Coverdale) Psalms xc[i]. 11 He shall geue his angels charge ouer the.
c1540 (?a1400) Destr. Troy 8952 A cheftan with charge of hom all.
1611 Bible (King James) Acts viii. 27 An Eunuch..who had the charge of all her treasure. View more context for this quotation
1611 Bible (King James) 1 Macc. xiv. 42 He should take charge of the Sanctuarie. View more context for this quotation
1623 W. Shakespeare & J. Fletcher Henry VIII i. iv. 62 Place you that side, Ile take the charge of this. View more context for this quotation
1732 True & Faithful Narr. in J. Swift Misc. III. ii. 270 If the Reverend Clergy show'd more Concern..I charitably impute it to their great charge of Souls.
1841 T. B. Macaulay Warren Hastings in Edinb. Rev. Oct. 163 His uncle..determined to take charge of him.
1847 W. M. Thackeray Vanity Fair (1848) xli. 376 The Baronet promised to take charge of the lad at school.
1850 W. M. Thackeray Pendennis II. xxviii. 278 Under the charge of her kind..patroness.
1890 Daily News 16 June 3/8 A seven-inch steel breech-loading gun ‘took charge’ in firing, and both gun and carriage were blown off the platform.
1897 Daily News 23 Feb. 7/6 A large party of men were pulling the tackle, when suddenly the spar ‘took charge’, and swung back.
b. in charge (of) is used both actively and passively; e.g. to leave children in charge of a nurse, or a nurse in charge of the children. The latter is the more recent use; thence curate-in-charge, officer in charge, priest in charge, etc. (see the nouns), here meaning ‘having actually the charge or care (of a place, business, etc.)’, ‘on duty’. to give (an object) in charge (to a person): (a) to commit (it) to his care, entrust him with it; (b) to give an order or command, to charge (see sense 15, and charge v. 14). to give (a person) in charge: to hand over to the custody of the police. So to have, take in charge.
ΘΚΠ
the world > action or operation > safety > protection or defence > care, protection, or charge > care for, protect, or have charge of [verb (transitive)] > commit to care or custody of another
givea1000
beteachc1000
teachc1000
betake1297
trust1340
bekena1375
commenda1382
putc1390
recommanda1393
commitc1405
recommendc1405
resignc1425
allot1473
commise1474
commanda1500
consign1528
in charge (of)1548
credit1559
incommend1574
entrusta1586
aret1590
be-giftc1590
concredit1593
betrust1619
concrede1643
subcommit1681
to farm out1786
confide1861
fide1863
doorstep1945
to foster out1960
the world > action or operation > safety > protection or defence > care, protection, or charge > having care or custody (of) [phrase] > in the care or custody of
under a person's hand (also hands)OE
under the wing ofc1230
in fang witha1400
in yemea1400
among the hands ofa1533
in charge (of)1548
under the umbrage of1677
the world > action or operation > safety > protection or defence > care, protection, or charge > care for, protect, or have charge of [verb (transitive)]
hold971
yemeOE
biwitc1000
keepa1325
wait1362
tentc1400
attendc1420
to take guard1426
tend?1521
to have the care of1579
to have, take, give (the) charge of1611
mind1640
to have, take in charge1665
tutor1682
attend1796
shepherda1822
mother1851
the world > action or operation > safety > protection or defence > care, protection, or charge > having care or custody (of) [phrase]
in charge (of)1665
the world > action or operation > safety > protection or defence > care, protection, or charge > care for, protect, or have charge of [verb (transitive)] > assume care, protection, or custody of
undernimc1175
undertakec1300
to have, take, give (the) charge of1389
godfather1651
to have, take in charge1785
society > law > administration of justice > general proceedings > arrest > [verb (transitive)] > hand over to police custody
to turn in1826
in charge (of)1887
1548 Hall's Vnion: Richard III 276 Forgetting nothing given to him in charge.
a1616 W. Shakespeare Comedy of Errors (1623) i. ii. 70 Where is the gold I gaue in charge to thee? View more context for this quotation
1665 T. Manley tr. H. Grotius De Rebus Belgicis 349 The Earl of Bulloin having in charge matters of greater concernment.
1785 W. Cowper Task ii. 478 The weighty terms, That he had taken in charge.
1793 T. Jefferson Writings (1859) IV. 51 I have it in charge from the President to assure the merchants..that, etc.
1834 F. Marryat Jacob Faithful I. i. 14 I was now left almost altogether in charge of the deck.
1849 T. B. Macaulay Hist. Eng. I. 440 note The Dutch Archives..are in the charge of gentlemen whose courtesy..cannot be too highly praised.
1858 N. Hawthorne Fr. & Ital. Jrnls. (1872) I. 78 Having the education of young girls in charge.
1859 F. Nightingale Notes on Nursing iii. 24 No one seemed to know what it is to be ‘in charge’, or who was in charge.
1885 Manch. Examiner 23 May 5/4 Mr. Shaw-Lefevre..was left..in full charge of the House.
1885 Law Rep.: Probate Div. 10 101 The European..was in charge of a duly licensed pilot.
1887 Newspr. The thief was promptly arrested and given in charge.
14. † b. Term for a ‘company’ of clergy having the cure of souls. Obsolete.
a. A thing or person entrusted to the care or management of any one. spec. The people or district committed to the care of a minister of religion.
ΘΚΠ
the world > action or operation > safety > protection or defence > care, protection, or charge > [noun] > entrusting to another's care or keeping > person or thing entrusted to another
charge1530
keep1579
trust1898
society > faith > church government > member of the clergy > priest > kinds of priest > [noun] > parish priest > jurisdiction of or parish
priestshireOE
church-sokenOE
parishc1300
parishenc1400
parishingc1450
cure1480
charge1530
paroece1564
parochrie1581
1530 J. Palsgrave Lesclarcissement 157 Vne cúre, a cure, a parsonage, or a charge.
1590 ‘Pasquil’ First Pt. Pasquils Apol. sig. B4v I wyll not be theyr vpholder which lye sleeping and snorting in their charges.
1596 W. Warner Albions Eng. (rev. ed.) xii. lxxiv. 302 When Stafford and his double Charge to Italie were come.
1609 W. Shakespeare Troilus & Cressida v. ii. 7 Dio. How now my charge. Cres. Now my sweet gardian. View more context for this quotation
1634 T. Herbert Relation Some Yeares Trauaile 220 Woe be to that Priest..That will not..preach his Charge among.
1740 S. Richardson Pamela I. xxxi. 172 He hoped her fair Charge was well.
1860 C. Dickens Uncommerc. Traveller in All Year Round 26 May 158/2 [The dog] has driven his charge away.
1870 J. H. Burton Hist. Scotl. to 1688 V. liv. 315 Instructions that the clergy should reside within their charges.
1872 E. Peacock Mabel Heron I. iv. 58 The Vicar..resided on the latter charge.
ΘΚΠ
society > faith > church government > member of the clergy > curate > [noun] > collectively
charge1486
1486 Bk. St. Albans F vij a A Dignyte of chanonys, a Charge of curatis.
***** Mandate, admonition.
15.
a. A precept, injunction, mandate, order.
ΘΚΠ
society > authority > command > command or bidding > [noun] > injunction or instruction > an injunction or instruction
charge138.
advisementa1387
instruction1410
jointc1475
injunction1526
special order1547
direction1576
encharge1595
direct1615
directing1632
directive1642
game law1820
mot d'ordre1905
138. J. Wyclif Last Age Ch. (1840) 24 The chargis of profetis tretynge þis matir.
1393 J. Gower Confessio Amantis I. 193 He..yaf him charge, That they ne suffre..His wife to go.
1535 Bible (Coverdale) Eccles. viii. A When a kynge geueth a charge, his commaundement is mightie.
1611 Bible (King James) 2 Sam. xviii. 5 The king gaue all the captaines charge concerning Absalom. View more context for this quotation
1693 W. Robertson Phraseologia Generalis (new ed.) 324 A charge or commandment.
1712 A. Pope tr. Ovid Sapho to Phaon in tr. Ovid Epist. (ed. 8) 13 No Charge I gave you, and no Charge cou'd give, But this; Be mindful of our Loves, and live.
1727 J. Gay Fables I. xlviii. 165 My charge, my only charge forgot?
1847 J. Yeowell Chron. Anc. Brit. Church ii. 11 His parting charge.
b. spec. An official instruction or admonition given by a judge to a jury, by a bishop or archdeacon to his clergy, or by a member of a presbytery or senior minister to a young minister at his ordination.
ΘΚΠ
society > faith > church government > member of the clergy > clerical superior > [noun] > instruction or admonition given by
charge1690
society > law > administration of justice > court proceedings or procedure > trying or hearing of cause > [noun] > instruction to jury
charge1889
1690 Bp. of Worc.'s Charge 11 Sept. 1 The Charge was given by the Bishop himself.
1791 J. Boswell Life Johnson anno 1773 I. 408 Johnson..with humourous formality gave me a Charge, pointing out the conduct expected from me.
1864 Daily News 26 Mar. Irving's ‘charge’ to the young minister at London-wall is something almost terrible to read.
1881 Bp. Wordsworth in Public Opinion No. 1044. 395 The main portion of my charge..delivered at our annual synod in Perth.
1888 Falkirk Mail 1 Sept. 3/5 Mr. Reid..ascended the pulpit and delivered the charge to the pastor and the congregation.
1889 N.E.D. at Charge Mod. In his charge to the jury, the Lord Chief Justice said, etc.
Categories »
c. Scots Law. The command of the sovereign's letters to perform some act, e.g. to enter an heir. Also, the messenger's copy of service, requiring the person to obey this command, or generally to fulfil the decrees of a court of law.
d. Scots Law. An item which an intromittor receives and holds for the benefit of a beneficiary; the total of such items.
ΘΚΠ
society > law > legal possession > [noun] > assuming possession or control of another's > property over which
charge1474
1474 in T. Dickson Accts. Treasurer Scotl. (1877) 1 Dec. I. 2 Sum totale of all the charge before writtin.
1554 in J. D. Marwick Extracts Rec. Burgh Edinb. (1927) II. 280 The charge and discharge being seine, hard and understand.
1615 in F. Roberts & I. M. M. Macphail Dumbarton Common Good Accts. (1972) 1 Summa of the hail charges.
1849 Act 12 & 13 Vict. c. 51 §13 The accountant shall see that the factor's accounts of charge and discharge, with the vouchers thereof, are duly lodged.
1936 P. W. Chandler Trust Accounts 2 In Scotland..the accounts of private trusts are there kept by the solicitor who acts for trustees, and he annually or periodically puts the account current into the form of an ‘Account Charge and Discharge’.
****** Accusation.
16.
a. Attribution or imputation of something culpable; accusation.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > attention and judgement > testing > accusation, charge > [noun]
acoupementc1300
accusinga1350
impeachment1387
accusementa1393
accusation?c1400
witingc1449
charge1477
impetition1530
threap1538
imputationa1586
deposition1587
impeach1591
insimulation1592
accusal1594
arraignment1595
taxation1605
arguing1611
tax1613
impositiona1616
tainture1621
incusation1623
touchinga1625
aggravation1626
accrimination1655
compellation1656
imputea1657
inculpation1798
finger-pointing1851
j'accuse1899
society > law > administration of justice > general proceedings > accusation, allegation, or indictment > [noun] > a charge, accusation, or allegation
crimec1384
calla1400
allegation1402
advocacya1413
allegeancea1430
objection1440
surmise1451
charge1477
ditement1502
crimination1534
allegement1594
appeach1628
1477 T. Norton Ordinall of Alchimy iii. in Ashm. 43 I pray God that this turne not me to Charge.
1484 W. Caxton tr. G. de la Tour-Landry Bk. Knight of Tower (1971) xlvii. 69 Puttyng the charge of the dede vpon other.
1577 S. Patrick tr. I. Gentillet Disc. Wel Governing (1602) 318 The gentleman..gave charge upon those which had taken away his betrothed wife.
1625 F. Bacon Ess. (new ed.) i. 5 Such a Disgrace, and such an Odious Charge.
1713 R. Steele Englishman No. 50. 324 He cannot prove these heavy Charges of Disloyalty.
1782 J. Priestley Disquis. Matter & Spirit (ed. 2) I. Pref. p. xxxiv The writer..has well defended my hypothesis from the charge of infidelity.
1866 M. Oliphant Madonna Mary I. iii. 36 That such a charge was hanging over her head.
1880 J. McCarthy Hist. our Own Times IV. 418 He made the most startling and..the most sweeping charges.
b. to lay to one's charge: to impute to one as a fault, charge one with, charge upon one.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > attention and judgement > testing > accusation, charge > accuse [verb (transitive)] > accuse of or charge with
tee871
upbraidc1000
acoupc1300
retc1300
becalla1325
charge138.
impeachc1380
putc1380
blamea1400
appeach1430
gredea1450
articlea1460
filea1500
slander1504
to lay to one's charge1535
aggravate1541
to charge (a person) with1559
reproach1570
attaint1586
impute1596
censure1634
arraign1672
saddle1794
inculpate1799
1535 Bible (Coverdale) Psalms xxxiv. [xxxv.] 11 False witnesses..laye to my charge thinges that I knowe not.
1608 W. Shakespeare King Lear ii. 123 To lay his gotish disposition to the charge of Starres. View more context for this quotation
1813 J. Austen Pride & Prejudice II. xii. 139 Two offences..you last night laid to my charge . View more context for this quotation
1872 E. Peacock Mabel Heron I. v. 75 Not having anything very serious to lay to the charge of the man himself.
c. spec. The accusation upon which a prisoner is brought up for trial; hence, in the slang of the police: A prisoner charged with an offence and brought up for trial.
ΘΚΠ
society > law > administration of justice > general proceedings > accusation, allegation, or indictment > [noun] > person accused or indicted
accuseda1500
appellee1531
indictee1531
panel1555
culprit1700
charge1859
1859 G. A. Sala Twice round Clock (1861) 422 One by one the ‘charges’ were brought in..and set before him in that little iron-railed dock. Some were felonious charges: scowling, beetle-browed, under-hung charges, who had been there many times before, and were likely to come there many times again.
d. to put (someone) on a charge (also charge-sheet), to charge with a specified offence, esp. under military law.
ΘΚΠ
society > law > administration of justice > general proceedings > accusation, allegation, or indictment > charge, accuse, or indict [verb (transitive)] > with specified offences
articlea1604
to put (someone) on a charge1960
1960 M. Spark Bachelors x. 173 Patrick trembles with fear and relief when he thinks of Mr. Fergusson who first put him on a charge.
1968 S. L. Elliott Rusty Bugles in E. Hanger Three Austral. Plays ii. iv. 95 That does it. He puts Vic on a charge sheet.
III. An impetuous attack (and allied senses).† 17. The position of a weapon ready for action. Cf. charge v. 21. Obsolete.
ΘΚΠ
society > armed hostility > drill or training > [noun] > weapon-training > manual exercise > position of weapon > specific
chargea1616
recover1692
secure1766
present1777
port arms1795
carry1802
salute1833
trail1833
ready1837
order1847
parade rest1862
slope1868
port1918
a1616 W. Shakespeare Henry IV, Pt. 2 (1623) iv. i. 118 Their armed Staues in charge, their Beauers downe.
1635 W. Barriffe Mil. Discipline ii. 10 The charges of the Pike are twofold either for defense or offence.
1650 R. Elton Compl. Body Art Mil. (1668) i. v. 5.
18.
a. Military. An impetuous attack or onset; the act of bearing down impetuously upon the opposing force (see quot. 1832 at sense 4). Also said of the rush of a powerful animal, as a bull, an elephant, of a player at football, etc.
ΘΚΠ
society > armed hostility > attack > charge > [noun]
reseOE
forec1275
shakec1380
birr1382
frushc1400
impression1402
imprint1490
race1535
charge1569
élan1880
charging1887
the world > action or operation > harm or detriment > hostile action or attack > [noun] > specific types of physical attack
charge1857
shoulder charge1930
stomping1958
rugby tackle1959
piping1971
1569 R. Grafton Chron. II. 275 It chaunced certeine French men and Almaynes to geue such a charge and onset of the English hoste, that perforce they opened the Archers of the Princes battaile.
1579 L. Digges & T. Digges Stratioticos 152 To abide a charge.
1611 Bible (King James) 2 Macc. xi. 11 Giuing a charge vpon their enemies like lions. View more context for this quotation
1663 S. Butler Hudibras: First Pt. i. ii. 83 Of knowledge great, Either for Charge or for Retreat.
1776 E. Gibbon Decline & Fall I. xix. 531 The two armies rushed with equal fury to the charge.
1796 Instr. & Regulations Cavalry 31 The Charge is that attack made with the greatest velocity and regularity possible, to break the order of the opposite enemy.
1855 W. H. Prescott Hist. Reign Philip II of Spain I. i. viii. 263 Egmont returned to the charge, but was forced back with greater loss than before.
1855 Ld. Tennyson (title) Charge of the Light Brigade.
1857 T. Hughes Tom Brown's School Days v The ‘Bravos’ of the School-house attest the pluckiest charge of all that hard-fought day.
1887 Spectator 16 Apr. 532/1 Reform meetings were dispersed by charges of Dragoons.
b. figurative; esp. in to return to the charge.
ΘΚΠ
the world > action or operation > harm or detriment > hostile action or attack > [noun] > attack by hostile measures or words
bruntc1425
assaultc1449
battery1562
onset1566
brash1573
breach1578
onslaught1613
onfall1646
attack1653
assay?1705
to return to the charge1752
arietation1797
set-to1808
set1829
dead set1835
go-in1858
on-ding1871
hatchet work1938
blitzkrieg1939
blitz1940
carpet bombing1956
bowling1959
1752 S. Johnson Rambler No. 194. ⁋11 He returns every day to the charge with increase of courage.
1843 C. Dickens Martin Chuzzlewit (1844) xiii. 165 Nor, although he returned to the charge very often, could he obtain any useful intelligence.
19. Military. A signal for the attack sounded on a trumpet or other instrument. (Also figurative)
ΘΚΠ
society > armed hostility > military organization > signals > [noun] > signal on instrument > specific signals
dian1591
alvarado1598
retreat1600
reveille1633
preparative1635
leveta1640
charge1650
gathering1653
reveil1668
chamade1684
assembly1728
rouse1789
roll-call1793
dinner call1799
taps1824
recall1825
fall-in1834
last post1845
lights out1864
post1864
assemble1883
1650 R. Elton Compl. Body Art Mil. (1668) iii. xxiii The several beats of the Drum; as first, of a Call; second, a Troop;..a March;..a Preparative;..a Battle or Charge;..a Retreat.
1682 T. Otway Venice Preserv'd i. 10 Beat's not my heart as't wou'd alarm thine [heart] To a new Charge of bliss?
1690 W. Walker Idiomatologia Anglo-Lat. 92 The trumpets on both sides sound the charge.
1828 W. Scott Fair Maid of Perth xi, in Chron. Canongate 2nd Ser. III. 314 The pipers on both sides blew their charge.
1854 J. S. C. Abbott Napoleon (1855) I. xix. 311 The..proclamation rang like a trumpet charge over the hills and valleys of France.
Compounds
C1. General attributive.
charge-bearer n.
ΚΠ
1605 R. Verstegan Restit. Decayed Intelligence viii. 272 A German soldier was obserued to kil in the feild some captaine or charge-bearer among the Romans.
charge-bearing n.
ΚΠ
1592 J. Dee Autobiogr. Tracts 35 in Chetham Misc. (1851) I I have received..in money towards some of my charges-bearing the som of, etc.
charge mixer n.
ΚΠ
1921 Dict. Occup. Terms (1927) § 279 Charge mixer (zinc); weighs charges (blende, calamine, anthracite, salt, etc.) and loads into barrow; pushes barrow to bin of mixing machine and tips in contents.
charge moulder n.
ΚΠ
1881 Instr. Census Clerks (1885) 59 Gun Cotton Manufacture:..Charge..Moulder.
1921 Dict. Occup. Terms (1927) § 148 Charge moulder (explosive)..; feeds and attends a machine which expresses cordite paste..through holes in a cylindrical die, forming a cord, tape or stick.
charge putter-up n.
ΚΠ
1921 Dict. Occup. Terms (1927) § 279 Charge putter-up; piles up near heating furnace puddled bars ready to be rolled into finished bars.
C2.
charge account n. North American a credit account at a store, etc.
ΘΚΠ
society > trade and finance > management of money > solvency > [noun] > credit documents > credit card > for a particular store or business
charge account1903
loyalty card1986
1903 Red Book July (Advt. section) 6/1 No security is required..when you buy on our confidential charge account system.
1909 ‘O. Henry’ Options (1916) 96 I've got more power here than..a charge of dynamite, and a charge account at Tiffany's combined.
1962 J. Ludwig in R. Weaver Canad. Short Stories (1968) 2nd Ser. 256 Shirley sneaked ties to Maxie, money, let him put things on Jimmy's charge accounts.
charge-book n. a book containing the statements of the charges brought against prisoners in a police court.
ΘΚΠ
society > law > law enforcement > police force or the police > [noun] > police records
police blotter1861
charge-sheet1866
murder book1876
blotter1887
charge-book1890
crime sheet1902
mug book1902
occurrence book1929
rap sheet1949
sheet1958
murder file1967
murder log1972
1890 Daily News 18 Sept. 2/5 Sir Andrew Lusk made an entry in the charge-book of the prisoner's death.
charge card n. originally U.S. (a) a card (card n.2 19) authorizing the holder to draw on a charge account; (b) a similar card issued by an organization, which allows the holder to purchase items on credit from a range of stores, etc., so long as the full account is settled when a statement is presented (usually monthly); sometimes contrasted with credit card n. 2.
ΘΚΠ
society > trade and finance > management of money > solvency > [noun] > credit documents > credit card
credit card1888
bank card1947
card1950
American Express1958
Amex1958
charge card1962
banker's card1966
Barclaycard1966
cheque card1966
Master Charge1966
gold card1970
asset card1975
debit card1975
visa1976
affinity card1979
master card1979
smart card1980
phonecard1981
key card1985
Connect1987
Switch card1988
1962 Good Housek. Sept. 164/3 In many cities, customers receive a charge plate or card.
1964 Business Week 29 Feb. 44/3 The customer gets a new charge card, but the bills go to the former address for months afterward.
1976 J. K. Lieberman & N. S. Rhodes Compl. CB Handbk. x. 208 If you've ever registered for the draft, filled out a charge-card application..or written a letter, you can fill out a CB license application for a Class D operator's license.
1977 Time (Atlantic ed.) 19 Sept. 34/2 (advt.) Book your rental to any major charge card.
1980 Daily Tel. 3 Jan. 15/3 American Express, which is not strictly a credit card but a charge card, is thought to hold 18 p.c. of the market.
1985 Investors Chron. 1- 7 Nov. 71/1 March's introduction of a charge card turned a £2.7m profit from financial activities into a £2.2m loss.
charge engineer n. the engineer in charge of the engines and machinery at a power station, etc.
ΘΚΠ
society > occupation and work > worker > workers according to type of work > manual or industrial worker > engineer > [noun] > in charge
charge engineer1907
1907 Installation News Sept. 16/2 Young gentleman..desires engagement as charge engineer of private plant.
charge-hand n. a workman, in various trades, who is in charge of a particular piece of work under the general supervision of a foreman.
ΘΚΠ
society > occupation and work > worker > workers according to status > [noun] > overseer or foreman > in charge of particular piece of work
boatswain1774
charge-man1885
charge-hand1916
1916 ‘B. Cable’ Doing their Bit iv. 65 We, the managers, foremen, and charge hands of the above factory.
1921 Dict. Occup. Terms (1927) §591 Painter's foreman..; charge hand; is in charge of painters on a job.
1921 Dict. Occup. Terms (1927) §691 Charge hand (electricity supply); a turbine or engine driver who is directly responsible to charge engineer for operation of turbine plant, [etc.].
1922 G. T. Turner & B. Wood Man. Up-to-date Organisation 171 Charge hand is an operator having supervision of a section.
1957 Times 12 Oct. 6/1 A charge-hand process worker on the Windscale piles.
1961 Evening Standard 4 Sept. 19/4 Male Chargehand wanted to take charge of television component coil-winding sections.
charge-house n. (a) a building in which prisoners are detained on a certain charge; (b) a workshop in which explosive is loaded into shells, etc., in an explosive factory, also attributive.
ΘΚΠ
society > occupation and work > workplace > place where specific things are made > [noun] > explosives
powder-mill1645
corning-mill1794
shot-tower1835
hill1897
charge-house1900
society > authority > punishment > imprisonment > prison > [noun] > place of detention or lock-up
roundhousec1437
cagea1500
stress house1505
lock-up1746
goose-house1841
booby hatch1859
prison camp1865
hold-over1888
booby-hutch1889
charge-house1900
1900 Daily News 14 Aug. 5/4 Three hundred and eighty suspected persons found themselves lodged in the fort. Another four hundred and fifty..in the charge-house.
1921 Dict. Occup. Terms (1927) §149 Charge house man (gunpowder),..wheels bogies (small trucks) of raw materials..between stores and scattered workshops of explosive factory.
charge-inspector n. an officer who inspects the charges entered in a charge-sheet.
ΘΚΠ
society > law > law enforcement > police force or the police > [noun] > policeman > with other specific duties
receiver1829
shoo-fly1877
charge-inspector1887
sparrow cop1896
handler1908
courtesy cop1938
community policeman1941
first responder1975
1887 Pall Mall Gaz. 28 July 3/1 The charge-inspector, being trained as a criminal lawyer as well as a policeman.
charge-man n. the leader of a working squad; also, a workman who controls the supply of materials to a furnace, machine, etc. in a workshop or factory.
ΘΚΠ
society > occupation and work > worker > workers according to status > [noun] > overseer or foreman
stewarda1400
surveyorc1440
supervisorc1454
overlookera1513
workmaster1525
supervisora1529
foreman1574
superintendent1575
overman1606
headman1725
overseer1766
gang leader1775
hagmaster1797
maistry1798
gangsman1803
kangany1817
capataz1826
gangman1830
ganger1836
gaffer1841
gang boss1863
ramrod1881
charge-man1885
mandor1885
captain1886
overganger1887
ephor1890
pusher1901
gangster1913
line manager1960
society > occupation and work > worker > workers according to status > [noun] > overseer or foreman > in charge of particular piece of work
boatswain1774
charge-man1885
charge-hand1916
1885 Daily News 23 Oct. 6/3 I, as a charge man, was the oldest at the particular hammer that I worked at.
1921 Dict. Occup. Terms (1927) §091 Charge man; (i) (patent fuel) is in charge of operations in manufacturing patent fuel; [etc.]; (ii) (salt works) is responsible for regulating supply of steam, brine, etc.
1921 Dict. Occup. Terms (1927) §279 Charge man (copper smelting)..; charges blast furnace, or cupola,..under direction of cupola furnace-man.
charge-nurse n. a nurse who has charge of a ward in an infirmary or hospital.
ΘΚΠ
the world > health and disease > healing > healer > nurse > [noun] > other types
man-nurse1530
probationer nurse1584
parish nurse1716
day nurse1759
school nurse1836
Gamp1846
hospital nurse1848
pupil nurse1861
male nurse1874
district nurse1883
relief nurse1884
casualty nurse1885
bayman1888
maid nurse1895
charge-nurse1896
ward nurse1899
health visitor1901
practice nurse1912
community nurse1922
scrub nurse1927
theatre nurse1934
para-nurse1942
nurse practitioner1967
rehab nurse1977
1896 T. C. Allbutt et al. Syst. Med. I. 424 The Matron..who is guided by the reports of the ‘sisters’ or ‘charge-nurses’.
1961 R. Graves More Poems 33 Bring the charge-nurse scuttling down the aisle With morphia-needle levelled.
charge room n. the room, at a police-station, in which the charge against an arrested person is made and entered in the charge book or sheet.
ΘΚΠ
society > law > law enforcement > police force or the police > [noun] > police office or station > part of police station
charge room1853
interview room1889
squad room1946
grill room1958
information room1958
1853 C. Dickens Down with Tide in Househ. Words 5 Feb. 485/2 The old Thames Police office is now a station-house, and..the old Court..is a quaint charge room.
1906 Westm. Gaz. 23 Oct. 5/1 She was taken back to the charge-room.
1933 P. MacDonald Myst. Dead Police i. 3 The other four [men] were all in the Charge Room.
charge-sheet n. the paper kept at a police-station on which are duly entered the names of persons brought in custody to the station, with the charge against them, etc.
ΘΚΠ
society > law > law enforcement > police force or the police > [noun] > police records
police blotter1861
charge-sheet1866
murder book1876
blotter1887
charge-book1890
crime sheet1902
mug book1902
occurrence book1929
rap sheet1949
sheet1958
murder file1967
murder log1972
1866 Harper's Mag. Jan. 161/2 The next witness who steps into the box is a charge sheet in himself.
1887 Pall Mall Gaz. 19 Aug. 9/1 It was the custom for the constable to give the information which appears in the charge-sheet.
charge-ways adv. (see 7), in the manner of a ‘charge’ or horse-plaister.
ΚΠ
1721 W. Gibson Farriers Dispensatory iii. xvi. 304 Apply it Charge-Ways all over the Part.
Draft additions 1993
The process of charging a battery; on charge, in the state of undergoing this process.
ΘΚΠ
the world > matter > physics > electromagnetic radiation > electricity > galvanism, voltaism > voltaic or galvanic battery > [noun] > storage battery > charging of
storage1881
charge1887
the world > matter > physics > electromagnetic radiation > electricity > galvanism, voltaism > voltaic or galvanic battery > [adjective] > undergoing charge
on charge1924
1887 P. B. Elwell tr. Planté Storage Electr. Energy ii. 46 Absorption of the gases during the charge of secondary cells.
1908 J. R. Barr Princ. Direct-Current Electr. Engin. v. 133 Variation of E.M.F. during charge and discharge.
1924 G. W. Vinal Storage Batteries vi. 233 The point at which gassing of a storage battery while on charge, begins is determined by the voltage.
1953 R. A. Harvey Battery Chargers & Charging xii. 311 The miner passes through the lamp room on finishing his shift and..puts the battery on charge himself.
1984 C. A. Vincent et al. Mod. Batteries 240 The current is high at the beginning of the charge, and falls off as the charging proceeds.
Draft additions September 2004
charge-coupled device n. Electronics a semiconductor device consisting of an array of coupled MOS capacitors which allow a charge to be transferred sequentially in a controlled manner, used chiefly in optical devices such as scanners and cameras in which an image is captured as a pattern of charges on the surface of the semiconductor and electronically shifted out of the device to form an image signal; abbreviated CCD.
ΚΠ
1970 Abstr. Internat. Electron Devices Meeting (IEEE) 78 In order to determine the operating limits of charge-coupled devices, a model that approximates the charge-coupled device with a traveling sine wave potential has been analyzed.
1982 Sci. Amer. Oct. 48/1 The tiny new television sensors called charge-coupled devices (CCD's) are providing a new view of the heavens.
2002 N.Y. Times Bk. Rev. 25 Aug. 7/1 Amateurs..can make long colorful exposures with charge-coupled devices (CCD's, the astronomical equivalent of the omnicompetent microchip).
This entry has not yet been fully updated (first published 1889; most recently modified version published online December 2021).
chargev.
/tʃɑːdʒ/, U.S. /tʃɑrdʒ/ I. To load; to cause to bear, hold, or receive.To charge is, in sense, causative of to bear; hence in the passive charged with is equivalent to ‘bearing’, ‘taking’, or ‘receiving’ what it can bear or hold.† 1. † b. transferred. To load with blows. Obsolete.† 2. To lay or place (goods, etc.) as a load upon; to lade. Obsolete.figurative.1665 R. Boyle Occas. Refl. ii. xv. sig. Q8v To charge no more upon a Day than the trouble that belongs to it.† 3. To carry as a load or lading. Obsolete. rare.figurative.1598 W. Shakespeare Love's Labour's Lost v. ii. 88 What are they, That charge their breath against vs? View more context for this quotationin extended use.1705 J. Addison Remarks Italy 361 It is pity the Obelisks in Rome had not been charg'd with several Parts of the Egyptian Histories.a1719 J. Addison Dialogues Medals in Wks. (1721) I. i. 441 Nor are they [sc. coins] only charged with Things but with many ancient Customs.
a. transitive. To place a load on or in; to load (e.g. a vehicle, ship, beast of burden, etc.). Also, in passive; charged with: laden with, bearing. Obsolete except as merged in other senses.
ΘΚΠ
society > travel > transport > [verb (transitive)] > load
seamc950
ladeOE
fethre?c1225
charge1297
lastc1400
load?1504
laden1514
loaden1568
burden1570
endorse1671
freight1829
sling load1933
society > travel > transport > transport or conveyance by carrying > transport or convey by carrying [verb (transitive)] > load (a beast)
truss?c1225
chargec1534
pack1598
sarcinate1623
endorse1671
hamper1725
1297 R. Gloucester's Chron. (1724) 13 Me chargede þre hondret schippes..Þer wyþ.
c1380 Sir Ferumbras (1879) l. 3136 Two & þyrty grete somers y-charged alle & some Wyþ fair flour.
c1386 G. Chaucer Merchant's Tale 967 A tre, That charged was with fruyt.
a1400 (a1325) Cursor Mundi (Vesp.) l. 8253 It was so cherged [Trin. Cambr. charged, Gött. karkid, Fairf. karked], ilk a bogh.
c1440 Promptorium Parvulorum 69 Chargyn wythe byrdenys, onero.
1513 G. Douglas tr. Virgil Æneid xi. i. 114 Mak prayer and offerandis Chargeand the altaris oft with his awin hands.
c1534 tr. P. Vergil Eng. Hist. (1846) I. 57 Cæsar, charging his shippes with a great number of captives.
1634 T. Herbert Relation Some Yeares Trauaile 191 Her head, armes, necke, nose, eares, legs and toes, each charged with Amulets and Bracelets of siluer.
1712 J. Browne tr. P. Pomet et al. Compl. Hist. Druggs I. 37 Branches, charg'd with Leaves.
1853 Arab. Nights (Rtldg.) 633 Ten mules charged with large hampers.
1854 J. S. C. Abbott Napoleon (1855) II. xxxv. 655 The frigate charged with the mortal remains of Napoleon.
ΘΚΠ
the world > movement > impact > striking > strike [verb (transitive)] > load with blows
to lay load on or upon?1550
charge1596
1596 T. Nashe Haue with you to Saffron-Walden sig. E2 All those..blowes wherewith you haue charged me.
ΚΠ
c1515 Ld. Berners tr. Bk. Duke Huon of Burdeux (1882–7) 423 All .iii...chargyd in theyr neckes mete ynowe & brought it to the shyp.
1539 Act 31 Hen. VIII c. 4 There to charge and discharge the sayde goodes.
1601 P. Holland tr. Pliny Hist. World I. 133 They must charge and discharge their wares.
ΘΚΠ
the world > space > relative position > support > [verb (transitive)]
to bear upeOE
underbearc950
bearOE
holdc1000
weighc1200
to hold up1297
upholda1300
sustainc1330
undersetc1330
comforta1382
underbear1382
upbear1390
sustaina1398
upkeepc1412
carrya1425
supporta1425
chargea1500
convey1514
avoke1529
confirm1542
stay1548
to carry up1570
bolster1581
lift1590
upstay1590
atlas1593
sustent1605
statuminatea1628
firm1646
appui1656
establish1664
shoulder1674
to keep up1681
upheave1729
withhold1769
a1500 (?c1450) Merlin iii. 57 Merlin hem shewde the stones that were grete and longe... They..seide it was a thynge inpossible to charge, they were of soche gretnesse and wight.
1660 R. Burney Κέρδιστον Δῶρον 98 Fear not man in this little Frigot and great wind, thou charges Cæsar and his fortune.
4.
a. To put in or on (a thing) what it can bear or is adapted to receive; to cause to take or receive to the extent of its capacity or requirements; to furnish with its full complement; to fill (e.g. a vessel with liquor, etc.).In some modern phrases probably transferred from 5.
ΘΚΠ
the world > space > place > presence > fact of taking up space > take up (space or a place) [verb (transitive)] > fill
afilleOE
fillOE
fullOE
chargea1250
replenish?a1425
replete?a1425
steek?1440
upfillc1440
plenish1488
prime1513
accloy1581
supplya1616
adimplete1657
a1250 (?a1200) Ancrene Riwle (Nero) (1952) 90 Hit is i ueððred [as an arrow]. þet is i charged.
?1577 J. Northbrooke Spiritus est Vicarius Christi: Treat. Dicing 35 A distaffe charged with flaxe.
1674 J. Ray Iron Work 126 The Furnace which is before charged with coles.
1740 G. Smith tr. Laboratory (rev. ed.) App. p. xxxiv When you charge your rocket.
a1763 W. Shenstone Wks. Verse & Prose (1764) I. 286 The trembling tears that charge thy melting eyes.
1785 W. Cowper Task vi. 570 Creeping vermin..charged perhaps with venom.
1823 J. Badcock Domest. Amusem. 20 Charging the cylinders with dry split wood.
1855 A. Bain Senses & Intellect i. iv. 291 An organ with bellows constantly charged.
1878 T. H. Huxley Physiography (ed. 2) 24 The water with which the rock is charged.
1884 R. Browning Ferishtah's Fancies (ed. 3) 134 The slave who charged thy pipe.
b. Construction transposed as in 2.
ΚΠ
1882 Engineer 24 Feb. 133/1 These bars are cut to lengths and charged into a suitable furnace.
5. spec. To put into (a firearm) the proper charge of powder and ball; to ‘load’.
ΘΚΠ
society > armed hostility > military equipment > operation and use of weapons > action of propelling missile > discharge of firearms > fire (a gun) [verb (transitive)] > load or prime (a gun)
charge1541
mors1552
proine1591
prime1598
load1626
lade1633
powder1643
shot1681
reload1727
reprime1759
slug1831
cap1856
1541 Act 33 Hen. VIII c. 6 No person..shal cary..any crosse bowe bent, or gun charged or furnished with pouder fire or touch for the same.
a1616 W. Shakespeare King John (1623) ii. i. 382 Their battering Canon charged to the mouthes. View more context for this quotation
1647 N. Nye Art of Gunnery i. 39 He should know how to charge and discharge Gunner like.
1669 S. Sturmy Mariners Mag. ii. v. xii. §45 When any Piece of Ordnance is Charged with such a Shot as will not be driven home unto the Powder.
1669 S. Sturmy Mariners Mag. ii. v. xiii. §4 How Granadoes are to be Charged in a Mortar, and Fired.
1709 R. Steele Tatler No. 82. ⁋8 Did you charge these Pistols?
1803 A. Rees Cycl. (at cited word) Engineers have contrived a sort of cannons which are charged by the breech.
6. Heraldry. To place a bearing on (an escutcheon or another bearing). charged with: bearing.
ΘΚΠ
society > communication > indication > insignia > heraldic devices collective > charge: device on shield > place charge on [verb (transitive)]
charge1572
gobony1611
1572 J. Bossewell Wks. Armorie 12 A ‘Gartiere’..maye not bee charged, but with floures or leaues.
1637 W. Camden Remaines (ed. 5) 210 Charged with a Mullet of sixe poynts.
1808 W. Scott Marmion vi. xxxix. 375 He..charged his old paternal shield With bearings won on Flodden field.
1882 Notes & Queries 25 Mar. 230 John, his younger brother, should charge his ancestor's crescent with another for himself.
7.
a. To fill (any substance) with other matter, diffused or distributed throughout it (e.g. the air with vapour, water with mineral substances, etc.). Usually in past participle charged with: containing or full of (the matter specified) in a state of diffusion or solution.
ΘΚΠ
the world > space > place > presence > fact of taking up space > take up (space or a place) [verb (transitive)] > fill > any substance with other matter
charge1756
1601 P. Holland tr. Pliny Hist. World I. 106 The riuer Glaucus, charged with the riuer of Telemessus.]
1756 C. Lucas Ess. Waters i. 82 The hard waters are such as are charged with some..metallic matter.
1833 C. Lyell Princ. Geol. III. 371 A black argillaceous limestone, charged with belemnites.
1854 D. Brewster More Worlds v. 103 The air may be charged..with aqueous vapour.
1869 E. A. Parkes Man. Pract. Hygiene (ed. 3) 79 Water highly charged with calcium carbonate.
1885 Manch. Examiner 5 June 5/2 Old workings charged with foul gas. (Cf. 4.)
b. To cause to receive (electricity); to accumulate a quantity of electricity capable of being again discharged in (a Leyden jar, or any electrified body, or an ‘accumulator’).
ΘΚΠ
the world > matter > physics > electromagnetic radiation > electricity > electric charge, electricity > charge [verb (transitive)]
electrify1745
electrize1747
etherize1748
charge1749
electricize1854
1749 B. Franklin Let. 29 Apr. in Exper. & Observ. Electr. (1751) 22 The bottle being thereby discharged, the man would be charged.
1751 B. Franklin in Exper. & Observ. Electr. 70 How does the vial become charged (as we term it)..?
1869 J. Phillips Vesuvius iii. 48 The moving clouds were highly charged with electricity.
1881 Sir W. Thomson in Nature No. 619. 434 One of the twenty kilogramme cells charged..and left with its 60 candle-hours' capacity.
8. figurative. To fill, furnish fully, render replete. Usually in past participle charged with: = bearing.
ΘΚΠ
the world > space > place > presence > fact of taking up space > take up (space or a place) [verb (transitive)] > fill > specifically in immaterial sense
fillOE
fulfila1300
replete1482
replenishc1529
stuff1531
install1577
charge1581
saturate1737
brim1844
supercharge1846
implete1862
earwig1880
infill1880
1581 R. Mulcaster Positions xxxviii. 176 Their braines be not so much charged, neither with weight nor with multitude of matters.
a1680 S. Butler Genuine Remains (1759) II. 61 The harder he charges his Head with Politics, the more it recoils.
1849 J. Ruskin Seven Lamps Archit. i. 26 Fair fronts of variegated mosaic, charged with wild fancies.
1850 E. B. Browning Vision of Poets I. 246 Soft accents clear Charged with high meanings.
1863 ‘G. Eliot’ Romola I. Proem 4 A face charged with memories of a keen and various life.
1877 ‘H. A. Page’ T. De Quincey: Life & Writings I. xi. 205 The stores of fact..with which his memory was charged.
II. To load heavily; to burden, put anything onerous, troublesome, hateful upon.† 9. † 10. To press hard; in passive to be hard pressed.† 11. figurative. To burden with sin, guilt, care, sickness, etc. Obsolete.† 12. To burden with expense, tribute, exactions, etc.; to put to expense; to be burdensome to. Obsolete. (Cf. 17, 18.)
a. To lay too heavy a load upon; to overload, burden. Obsolete.
ΘΚΠ
the world > matter > properties of materials > weight or relative heaviness > weight [verb (transitive)] > make heavy > add weight to > excessively or weigh down
overchargea1325
overcarkc1330
overladea1387
chargea1398
laden1514
overburden1532
ladea1538
overload1553
overpressa1577
overweigh1576
surcharge1582
to weigh back, on one side, to the earth1595
overpoise1598
overweight1811
the world > action or operation > difficulty > hindrance > types or manners of hindrance > hinder in specific manner [verb (transitive)] > encumber > burden > excessively
overbidc1175
chargea1398
overburden1532
overload1553
overweigh1576
over-Atlas1593
overpoise1599
out-Atlas1603
superonerate1607
overfreight1711
overweight1811
overpress1886
a1398 J. Trevisa tr. Bartholomaeus Anglicus De Proprietatibus Rerum (BL Add. 27944) (1975) II. xvii. cliv. 1050 A cod..is a voyde þing..and chargeþ more þan it feediþ.
1481 W. Caxton tr. Myrrour of Worlde ii. x. 89 The clustres of grapes ben so grete..that the men ben gretly charged to bere one of them only vpon a colestaff.
1658 W. Johnson tr. F. Würtz Surgeons Guid i. iii. 11 Charge not the wound with too much stitching.
1671 tr. R. Fréjus Relation Voy. Mauritania 33 I drank five or six cups of this admirable water, with which I felt my stomach no more charged than if I had drank but one.
1693 J. Locke Some Thoughts conc. Educ. §62. 63 A Fault in the ordinary Method of Education..is, The Charging of Children's Memories..with Rules and Precepts.
b. Painting and Decorative Art. To overload.
ΘΚΠ
society > leisure > the arts > visual arts > work of art > [verb (transitive)] > artistic treatment or style > types of
chargea1806
daguerreotype1839
transfer1839
conventionalize1854
archaize1906
schematize1908
1765 H. Walpole Vertue's Anecd. Painting (ed. 2) II. iii. 116 His shades not charged, but helped by varnish.
a1806 J. Barry in R. N. Wornum Lect. on Painting (1848) 133 Nothing is unskilfully charged for the purpose of obtaining grandeur.
ΘΚΠ
the world > action or operation > difficulty > present difficulties [verb (intransitive)] > be in difficulties or straits
to be hard bested?c1225
to be hard set1387
to be hard (straitly, stiffly, etc.) steada1400
to have mistera1400
charge1487
to be hard (also sorely, etc.) put to ita1616
straiten1647
to be ill set1673
press1813
to be up a gum tree1829
push1863
1487 (a1380) J. Barbour Bruce (St. John's Cambr.) xiii. 317 And thai with speris swa him met..That he and hors..war chargit swa That bath doune to the erd can ga.
1569 R. Grafton Chron. II. 281 The Frenche king vnderstanding well that his men in Calyce were charged sore.
ΘΚΠ
the world > action or operation > difficulty > hindrance > types or manners of hindrance > hinder in specific manner [verb (transitive)] > encumber > burden
charka1300
chargec1308
cark1330
liea1400
labour1437
onerate1453
endossa1500
onera1500
laden1514
load1526
aggravate1530
lay1530
honorate1533
ladea1538
burden1541
ballast1566
loaden1568
degravate1574
aburden1620
pregravate1654
comble1672
c1308 Pol. Songs 195 Men that..Mest i-charged beth with sinne.
1340 R. Rolle Pricke of Conscience 7953 Þai salle be swa hevy charged with syn.
a1400 (a1325) Cursor Mundi (Fairf. 14) l. 24233 Þou charge [Vesp. cark] þe noȝt sa fast wiþ care.
1485 W. Caxton tr. Paris & Vienne (1957) 26 A lytel charged in my conscyence.
1523 Ld. Berners tr. J. Froissart Cronycles I. xx. 28 Kyng Robert of Scotland..was greatly charged with the great sickenes.
1633 G. Herbert Sacrifice in Temple lii Lo, here I hang, charg'd with a world of sinne.
ΘΚΠ
society > trade and finance > charges > [verb (transitive)] > overcharge > burden with charges
charge1330
society > trade and finance > fees and taxes > impost, due, or tax > tax > taxation > levy (a tax) [verb (transitive)] > tax (a person or thing) > burden or oppress with taxes
charge1330
scat1481
overtax1607
screwa1643
to shoot‥through and through1690
rack1862
1330 R. Mannyng Chron. (1810) 54 Hardeknout did charge þe lond in suilk treuwage, Þat noiþer erle no barone myght lyue for taliage.
1483 W. Caxton tr. A. Chartier Curial sig. iv They knowe not of what dyspence they ben charged for to nourysshe them.
1487 (a1380) J. Barbour Bruce (St. John's Cambr.) iv. 344 The pouir folk of this cuntre Ar chargit..Of vs, that ydill lyis her.
1596 T. Danett tr. P. de Commynes Hist. vi. vii. 225 He had more charged his people than euer had any of his predecessors.
1611 Bible (King James) 1 Tim. v. 16 Let not the Church be charged . View more context for this quotation
a1616 W. Shakespeare Merry Wives of Windsor (1623) ii. ii. 160 Good Sir Iohn, I sue for yours: not to charge you, for I must let you vnderstand, I thinke my selfe in better plight for a Lender, then you are. View more context for this quotation
1702 Clarendon's Hist. Rebellion I. iv. 250 Charging the Kingdom by Billetting of Soldiers.
13. † b. elliptical. To commission, put in charge (or office). Obsolete. Cf. discharge v. 4b.
a. To impose a duty, task, or responsibility upon; to burden, entrust, commission with (of, obsolete).
ΘΚΠ
society > authority > delegated authority > investing with delegated authority > vest authority in a person [verb (transitive)] > commission to do something
assign1297
chargec1300
ordainc1330
commita1402
limitc1405
commisea1470
task1530
taska1592
consign1705
detail1837
betask1857
c1300 Beket 836 And thu afonge the bischopriche..That thu of non other thing ne scholdest icharged beo.
c1320 Seuyn Sag. (W.) 305 He scharged hem with his message.
1490 W. Caxton tr. Foure Sonnes of Aymon (1885) i. 9 I shal tel him al alonge all that ye have charged me of.
a1557 J. Cheke tr. Gospel St. Matthew (1843) iv. 6 He hath charged his angels with yow.
1608 W. Shakespeare King Lear xxiv. 158 What you haue chargd me with, that haue I don. View more context for this quotation
1651 T. Hobbes Leviathan ii. xxxi. 193 Soveraigns..need not be charged with the Sciences Mathematicall.
1877 L. P. Brockett Cross & Crescent 482 He was..charged with the supervision of all the military schools.
1881 J. C. Shairp in Academy 12 Feb. 111 A few poets..who are charged with some old truth to revive.
ΚΠ
1532 G. Hervet tr. Xenophon Treat. Househ. (1768) 13 Is there euer any other wyse man that ye trust and charge soo moche in your busines, as ye doo your wyfe.
c1540 (?a1400) Destr. Troy 7202 He chargyt was for no cheftain, ne chosyn by hym.
c1540 (?a1400) Destr. Troy 8944 Sum clene prinse..To be charget as cheftain.
1569 R. Grafton Chron. II. 167 Then was he discharged, and Sir John Breton knight charged for the rest of the yere.
c. reflexive. to charge oneself with: to take upon oneself the charge or responsibility of.
ΘΚΠ
society > morality > duty or obligation > responsibility > be responsible for [verb (transitive)] > take upon oneself as a responsibility
answera1200
to stand to ——1540
to charge oneself with1727
shoulder1900
1727 J. Arbuthnot Tables Anc. Coins xxii. 273 He charged himself with all the Sea-risque of such Cessels.
1788 Ld. Auckland Corr. (1861) II. 89 The Venetian Ambassador has charged himself with my visitors.
14. † b. to charge to an answer, etc. Obsolete.absolute.1864 J. H. Newman Apologia 244 The Bishops one after another began to charge against me.
a. To lay a command or injunction upon; to command, order, enjoin; to exhort authoritatively; to give charge. Const. with infinitive, or with clause introduced by that; also simply (sometimes followed by the exact words of the command).
ΘΚΠ
society > authority > command > command or bidding > command [verb (transitive)] > enjoin or instruct
enjoin1297
charge1303
informa1387
charche1399
inditec1399
joinc1400
instructa1500
encharge?1533
conjoin1591
ready1600
directa1616
1303 R. Mannyng Handlyng Synne 1421 Whan he was chargede þe soþe to seye.
c1385 G. Chaucer Legend Good Women 940 Enyas was chargit by Venus To fleen a-wey.
1393 J. Gower Confessio Amantis III. 218 And chargeth hem, that they ne flee.
14.. Epiph. in Tundale's Vis. 107 He charged hem..Homward by hym they schuld repeyre.
c1400 (?c1380) Cleanness (1920) l. 464 How þe cheuetayn hym charged þat þe kyst ȝemed.
1480 W. Caxton Chron. Eng. ccxlii. 277 They..charged hym to lye still.
1535 Bible (Coverdale) 1 Kings xxii. 16 I charge ye that thou saye no other thinge vnto me but the trueth, in the name of ye Lorde.
1594 C. Marlowe & T. Nashe Dido i. i Charge him from me to turn his stormy powers.
a1616 W. Shakespeare Twelfth Night (1623) iv. i. 44 Hold Toby, on thy life I charge thee hold. View more context for this quotation
1667 J. Milton Paradise Lost x. 200 I charg'd thee, saying: Thou shalt not eate thereof. View more context for this quotation
1775 R. B. Sheridan St. Patrick's Day ii. ii Papa charged you to keep close to me.
1808 W. Scott Marmion v. vii. 250 He had charged, that his array Should southward march by break of day.
1867 Mrs. H. Wood Orville Coll. I. iii. 67 I have strictly charged them..not to speak of this.
ΚΠ
1600 W. Shakespeare Merchant of Venice v. i. 298 Charge vs there vpon intergotories, and we will aunswer all things faithfully. View more context for this quotation
a1616 W. Shakespeare King John (1623) iii. i. 77 Thou canst not (Cardinall) deuise a name So slight..To charge me to an answere, as the Pope. View more context for this quotation
c. To deliver an official or formal instruction or exhortation to (as a judge to the jury, a bishop to his clergy, etc.). Also absol. to deliver a ‘charge’. Cf. charge n. 15b.
ΘΚΠ
society > authority > command > command or bidding > command [verb (transitive)] > enjoin or instruct > officially
charge1618
society > law > administration of justice > court proceedings or procedure > trying or hearing of cause > try or hear cause [verb (transitive)] > instruct jury
charge1618
1618 F. Pulton Coll. Statutes 172 ( (Act 28 Edw. III) , ix. (margin) No writ shal be directed to the Sheriffe to charge a Jury to indict any.
1856 Daily National Intelligencer (Washington) 3 Nov. ‘Well’, said the lawyer, ‘did the judge charge you’?
1870 Echo 19 May The Bishop of Bath and Wells charged the clergy of his diocese at Castle Carey, yesterday.
1881 Newspr. The Lord Chief Justice proceeded to charge the jury.
15. † c. Former constructions. Obsolete.
a. To lay blame upon, blame, censure; to bring an accusation against, accuse.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > attention and judgement > testing > accusation, charge > accuse [verb (transitive)] > accuse of or charge with
tee871
upbraidc1000
acoupc1300
retc1300
becalla1325
charge138.
impeachc1380
putc1380
blamea1400
appeach1430
gredea1450
articlea1460
filea1500
slander1504
to lay to one's charge1535
aggravate1541
to charge (a person) with1559
reproach1570
attaint1586
impute1596
censure1634
arraign1672
saddle1794
inculpate1799
138. J. Wyclif Sel. Wks. III. 344 Þei chargen hemsilf as ypocritis.
a1450 Knt. de la Tour (1868) 61 She wende to have lytelyd her synne, to have charged an other.
1531 St. German's Secunde Dyaloge Doctour & Student (new ed.) xlii. f. cxv For trespas of batery..the mayster shal not be charged for hys seruaunt, oneles he dyd it by hys commaundement.
1587 J. Hooker tr. Giraldus Cambrensis Vaticinall Hist. Conquest Ireland i. xxxii. 21/2 in Holinshed's Chron. (new ed.) II The king..charged him verie deepelie and sharplie for his rash and hastie aduentures.
1611 Bible (King James) Job i. 22 In all this Iob sinned not, nor charged God foolishly. View more context for this quotation
1687 W. Wake Prepar. for Death i. 55 I am so far from charging you as guilty in this matter, that, etc.
1818 W. Cruise Digest Laws Eng. Real Prop. (ed. 2) I. 267 The husband shall be charged in an action of waste.
b. Usual const. to charge (a person) with (a fault, crime, etc.): = to accuse of.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > attention and judgement > testing > accusation, charge > accuse [verb (transitive)] > accuse of or charge with
tee871
upbraidc1000
acoupc1300
retc1300
becalla1325
charge138.
impeachc1380
putc1380
blamea1400
appeach1430
gredea1450
articlea1460
filea1500
slander1504
to lay to one's charge1535
aggravate1541
to charge (a person) with1559
reproach1570
attaint1586
impute1596
censure1634
arraign1672
saddle1794
inculpate1799
1559 W. Baldwin et al. Myrroure for Magistrates Clarence l. 7 To charge me with offence.
1598 W. Shakespeare Henry IV, Pt. 1 iii. iii. 156 Charge an honest woman with picking thy pocket. View more context for this quotation
1672 J. Dryden Conquest Granada i. iv. ii. 38 In charging your unkindness with my death.
1749 H. Fielding Tom Jones II. iv. xi. 81 Thwackum, who was immediately charged by Mr. Blifil with the Story. View more context for this quotation
1833 H. Martineau Three Ages iii. 96 Two labourers..were charged with creating a disturbance.
ΚΠ
1569 R. Grafton Chron. II. 87 The French Chronicle chargeth king Richard to be in great fault.
1579 W. Fulke Heskins Parl. Repealed in D. Heskins Ouerthrowne 475 [He] chargeth the Papistes of wilfull ignorance.
1605 W. Camden Remaines i. 218 Charged before King Henry the seaventh for burning the Metropolitane Church of Cassilles in Ireland.
1681 J. Dryden Absalom & Achitophel To Rdr. p. i To charge me for not Subscribing of my Name.
1709 J. Strype Ann. Reformation v. 91 The Bishops charged the Protestants to have been the propounders of the questions.
1756 S. Johnson Mem. King of Prussia in Lit. Mag. Nov.–Dec. 383 [He] charges the English that they still retain it.
d. absol. or intransitive. To bring a charge.
ΘΚΠ
society > law > administration of justice > general proceedings > accusation, allegation, or indictment > bring a charge [verb (intransitive)]
to bring in or lay an indictment1303
to call upon ——1448
accuse1546
propound1576
prosecute1611
to call on ——a1616
to lay an information1838
charge1891
1891 Spectator 2 May If she can but get the High Court of Justice to charge on her side.
1929 Publishers' Weekly 19 Oct. 1935/2 Thompson charged that McAndrew was the ‘king's stool pigeon’.
16. † b. To impute or ascribe to. Obsolete.
a. to charge (a fault, etc.) on, upon, against (a person): to lay it to his charge, impute as a fault.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > attention and judgement > testing > accusation, charge > accuse [verb (transitive)] > lay to one's charge, impute
witec893
challenge1297
weena1300
to bear upon —c1300
likenc1400
layc1425
to put upa1438
object1447
establish1483
impose1484
reproach1490
annotea1513
lade1535
appoint1553
burden1559
clap1609
to charge (a fault, etc.) on, upon, against (a person)1611
upcast1825
1611 J. Speed Hist. Great Brit. ix. xvi. 652/2 The points of his speeches were as that fellow charged vpon him in open Parliament.
1685 R. Baxter Paraphr. New Test. Matt. v. 11 To have all manner of evil charged on you..falsly.
1693 J. Dryden tr. Persius Satires iii. 33 Charge the Crime, On Native Sloth, and negligence of time.
1743 J. Wesley & C. Wesley Coll. Psalms (new ed.) xiii. 10 Will they not charge my Fall on Thee?
1786 Particulars Trials John Shepherd 46 I am perfectly innocent of the robbery charged against me.
1855 W. H. Prescott Hist. Reign Philip II of Spain I. i. i. 24 The blame should rather be charged on Philip's ministers than on Philip.
1871 B. Jowett tr. Plato Dialogues II. 283 The inconsistency which is charged upon us.
ΘΚΠ
the world > existence and causation > causation > attribution or assignment of cause > assign to a cause [verb (transitive)]
titleOE
aretc1340
witena1375
witnea1375
reta1382
depute1382
wite1382
seta1387
layc1425
expoundc1430
imputec1480
attribue1481
assign1489
reckon1526
attribute1530
count1535
allot?1556
draw1578
object1613
prefer1628
entitle1629
implya1641
to score (something) on1645
intitule1651
put1722
to put down1723
charge1737
own1740
place1802
to set down1822
affiliate1823
1737 J. Swift Let. 22 May I hear it [a certain poem] is charged to me.
c. To bring as an accusation; to state or assert in an indictment, to make a count in an indictment; to make the charge (that).
ΘΚΠ
society > trade and finance > charges > [verb (transitive)]
charge1785
the mind > attention and judgement > testing > accusation, charge > accuse [verb (transitive)]
edwitec825
witec893
accuseOE
bespeaka1000
forwrayOE
atwiteOE
blamea1300
impugn1377
publishc1384
defamea1387
appeach1430
becryc1440
surmisea1485
arguea1522
infame1531
insimulate1532
note1542
tax1548
resperse1551
finger-point1563
chesoun1568
touch1570
disclaim1590
impeach1590
intent1613
question1620
accriminate1641
charge1785
cheek1877
society > law > administration of justice > general proceedings > accusation, allegation, or indictment > charge, accuse, or indict [verb (transitive)] > bring (a charge or accusation) > bring as a charge
wraya900
surmisec1460
aggravate1541
indicta1670
charge1785
1785 E. Burke Corr. (1844) III. 38 We ought to be very careful not to charge what we are unable to prove.
1862 J. F. Stephen Def. Rowland Williams x The second Count charged that Dr. Williams was Vicar of Broad Chalke.
1862 J. F. Stephen Def. Rowland Williams xi The fourth Count charged a publication in the Diocese of Salisbury.
1889 N.E.D. at Charge Mod. Newspr. (U.S.) It has been charged that Coleridge appropriated the ideas of Lessing. Some months ago a ‘Mason’, so it was charged, poisoned the archbishop of Quito.
17. To subject or make liable (a person, estate, etc.) to a pecuniary obligation or liability. Const. with the liability; formerly to.
ΘΚΠ
society > trade and finance > charges > [verb (transitive)] > make liable to charge
charge1629
1629 Vse of Law 34 in J. Doddridge Lawyers Light That heire..shal be charged of his owne Lands or goods..for this deed of his Ancestor.
1642 tr. J. Perkins Profitable Bk. i. §1. 1 What things a man may grant or charge.
1712 H. Prideaux Direct. Church-wardens (ed. 4) 50 They [certain lands]..must be charged equally with them [the Parish] to all the Burdens of it.
1815 W. Scott Guy Mannering I. ii. 24 He was..charged to make payment of the expenses of a long litigation.
1818 W. Cruise Digest Laws Eng. Real Prop. (ed. 2) II. 185 H. Lawson..charged..all his personal estate, with the payment of his debts.
1852 J. R. McCulloch Treat. Taxation (ed. 2) i. iv. 138 The incomes of those charged..in schedules D and E.
1853 E. Bulwer-Lytton My Novel III. x. xxv. 228 If the Count pay the debts, and the lady's fortune be only charged with your own.
18. to charge (a sum or price):
a. To impose as a liability of pecuniary charge (on an estate or income).
ΚΠ
1806 W. Cruise Digest Laws Eng. Real Prop. VI. 319 The debts were not..charged upon the real estate.
1845 J. R. McCulloch Treat. Taxation i. iv. 138 Whether it [the tax] should be charged indifferently on all incomes.
1874 Act 37 & 38 Vic. c. 3. §9 Moneys to be charged on the revenues of India.
b. To impose, claim, demand, or state as the price or sum due for anything.
ΚΠ
1787 ‘G. Gambado’ Acad. Horsemen 34 I myself saw 3s. charged in his bill for wine.
1872 W. Black Strange Adventures Phaeton xxviii. 376 Do you think we ought to charge two-pence this time?
1883 ‘G. Lloyd’ Ebb & Flow II. 115 [The price] she charged for her eggs.
1889 N.E.D. at Charge Mod. How much do you charge for these?
c. absol. To make a (pecuniary) charge.
ΚΠ
a1843 R. Southey Devil's Walk 46 If he charges at this rate for all things.
1867 Mrs. H. Wood Orville Coll. I. ix. 206 I could not charge..please say no more about payment.
d. With double object (combining 17 and 18): to charge a person a certain sum (for a service or thing sold).
ΘΚΠ
society > trade and finance > charges > [verb (transitive)] > impose as a charge
to charge1850
to put on1879
1850 C. Kingsley Alton Locke I. x. 147 Charging his customers, too..high prices.
1875 W. S. Jevons Money (1878) 113 If every depositor of a pound were liable to be charged 2 per cent. for lightness.
1889 N.E.D. at Charge Mod. He charged me a shilling for the operation. They were charged five shillings a head for dinner.
19. to charge (a thing sold or offered for sale):
a. To lay the liability of payment for (a thing) on a person; to put as a charge to or against (his account). Also const. on. Frequently U.S.
ΘΚΠ
society > trade and finance > charges > [verb (transitive)] > a person
spend1590
debit1682
tax1846
to chargea1889
society > trade and finance > management of money > keeping accounts > keep accounts [verb (transitive)] > enter in an account > debit
debit1682
to chargea1889
a1889 Mod. To whom are the cigars to be charged? Charge these to my account (or against me).
1929 W. Faulkner Sound & Fury 231 Have you been charging things at stores again?
1947 J. Steinbeck Wayward Bus 209 She could charge her clothes and sign cheques in restaurants.
1966 New Yorker 22 Oct. 20 (advt.) Charge everything from a surfboard to a luau on your American Express Credit Card.
b. To put a price on; to rate.
ΘΚΠ
society > trade and finance > monetary value > price > pricing > attach a price to [verb (transitive)] > set or fix price (of)
loveOE
prizea1325
setc1420
make1423
cheapa1464
price1471
ratify1511
to set up?1529
apprize1533
rate1599
to set down1599
pitch1624
tax1846
to charge1889
sale-price1959
1889 N.E.D. at Charge Mod. He charges coal at 8d. a cwt. (= He charges 8d...for coal; cf. 18 b).
III. To attach weight to. [A transference of the notion of load.] † 20. To attach weight or importance to; to care for, regard, reck. With negative, To make no account of, set at nought. Obsolete.† b. intransitive. Const. of. Obsolete.† c. to be not (nought) to charge: to be of no importance, to matter not. Obsolete.
a. transitive (or with object clause.)
ΘΚΠ
the mind > attention and judgement > importance > [verb (transitive)] > attach importance to
weigh?c1225
chargec1320
set by1393
to attribute (much)1586
to stand upon ——1587
moment1598
to lay weight upon1600
reflecta1616
to take (large etc.) stock in (rarely of)1870
c1320 tr. J. Bonaventura Medit. 470 Þat he nat chargeþ hym self to spyl.
138. J. Wyclif Sel. Wks. III. 350 For þei chargen more þer owne statute..þan þei done þe lawe of þe gospel.
a1425 (c1395) Bible (Wycliffite, L.V.) (Royal) (1850) Gen. xxv. 34 Esau..chargide litil that he hadde seld the riȝt of the firste gendrid child.
c1440 Promptorium Parvulorum 69 Chargyn or gretely sett a thynge to herte, penso.
c1449 R. Pecock Repressor (1860) 445 Nile thou [sc. Timothy] litil charge the grace which is in thee.
c1531 Praier of Ploweman sig. Bvjv They chargen more mennes tradicions than thy commaundementes.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > attention and judgement > importance > [verb (intransitive)] > attach importance to
reckOE
to make (do, give, take, have, let, kythe, set) force1303
chargea1425
to think (it) much1548
reckon1576
a1425 (c1395) Bible (Wycliffite, L.V.) (Royal) (1850) Matt. xxii. 16 Thou chargist not of ony man.
c1440 Promptorium Parvulorum 70 Chargyn, rekkyn or yeve tale, curo.
a1500 Lancelot of Laik (1870) 2454 He chargit not bot of encress and fame.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > attention and judgement > importance > unimportance > be unimportant [verb (intransitive)]
it is no forcec1369
to be not (nought) to charge138.
to make no mattera1466
it maketh no force1551
to make nothing1551
138. J. Wyclif Sel. Wks. III. 352 Dette is not to charge but ȝif it turne to goostli help.
c1440 York Myst. xx. 120 Childre wordis are noȝt to charge.
1493 Chastysing Goddes Chyldern (de Worde) iv. sig. Aivv/2 A thyng yt nought is to charge or lityl.
IV. To attack impetuously: and senses leading up to it. [Sense 21 may be connected with 4 or 5, but the links are not clear; perhaps 21b is the earlier, and connected with 14. Sense 22 is also in French, but Littré gives no clue to its origin. Cf. the noun senses 17, 18.]
21. in extended use.1824 W. Scott Redgauntlet II. viii. 135 Peter blundered into the middle of the apartment, with his head charged like a ram's in the act of butting.† b. To spur on (a war-horse) to full speed.† c. To direct and aim (a blow or stroke). Obsolete.
a. To place (a weapon) in position for action; to ‘level’, direct the aim of. (In charge bayonets! it appears to have passed into sense 22.)
ΘΚΠ
society > armed hostility > drill or training > drill [verb (transitive)] > position weapons
charge1509
trailc1550
present1579
recover1594
return1598
handle1621
rest1622
port1625
slope1625
reverse1630
to order arms1678
carry1779
the world > space > direction > direct [verb (transitive)] > aim at > aim (a blow, weapon, etc.)
reachOE
seta1300
shapec1400
ettlec1450
charge1509
bend1530
level1530
aimc1565
butt1594
levy1618
to give level to1669
wise1721
intenda1734
train1795
sight1901
to zero in1944
1509 S. Hawes Pastime of Pleasure xxxiii. xv My spere I charged..and to this giaunt I toke my course.
1509 S. Hawes Pastime of Pleasure (1845) 193 As I gan my grete stroke to charge.
1600 W. Shakespeare Much Ado about Nothing v. i. 136 I shall meete your wit in the careere, and you charge it against me. View more context for this quotation
1603 R. Knolles Gen. Hist. Turkes (1610) 662 He rode up and down gallantly mounted, and charged and discharged his lance.
1623 J. Bingham tr. Xenophon Hist. 116 But when..they..gaue a shout, and charged their pikes, the enemy..fled.
1724 D. Defoe Mem. Cavalier Several bodies of the enemy's foot..stood with their pikes charged to keep us off.
1727 A. Hamilton New Acct. E. Indies II. liii. 266 With a charged Trident in his right Hand, ready to throw at Offenders.
1853 J. H. Stocqueler Mil. Encycl. 56/2 Charge bayonets! a word of command given to infantry to advance on the enemy with bayonets fixed.
ΘΚΠ
society > travel > transport > riding on horse (or other animal) > ride (a horse or other animal) [verb (transitive)] > urge on > spur
prickc1250
spurc1275
broach1330
prochea1425
strike1487
punye1488
chargea1500
spura1500
dig1530
to put (also set) (the) spurs to1553
spur1582
spura1644
rowel1765
a1500 Lancelot of Laik (1870) 3398 His horss than can [= gan] he with his spuris charg..And in the thikest of the press is gon.
ΚΠ
1509 S. Hawes Pastime of Pleasure (1845) 193 Thy grete stroke to charge.
22. figurative.a1656 Bp. J. Hall Shaking of Olive-tree (1660) ii. 4 Constantly charged with furious onsets of his sharp diseases.
a. To rush against or upon, with all one's force, in a hostile way; to spur one's horse against at full gallop; to bear down upon, make a violent onset on, attack or assail with impetuosity. esp. in military use; also said of a powerful animal rushing at any opponent, of players at football, etc.
ΘΚΠ
society > armed hostility > attack > charge > [verb (transitive)]
onreseeOE
reseOE
shoota1300
tachea1400
charge1582
shock1614
the world > action or operation > harm or detriment > hostile action or attack > make an attack upon [verb (transitive)] > charge
charge1582
shoulder charge1930
1582 R. Stanyhurst tr. Virgil First Foure Bookes Æneis ii. 23 With his chaapt staf speedelye running Strong the steed [sc. the Trojan horse] he chargeth.
1595 W. Shakespeare Henry VI, Pt. 3 i. i. 8 The great Lord of Northumland..Chargde our maine battels front.
1608 W. Shakespeare King Lear vi. 50 With his prepared sword hee charges home my vnprouided body, lancht mine arme. View more context for this quotation
1664 in 10th Rep. Royal Comm. Hist. MSS (1885) App. iv. 69 Col. Ludlowe with a regiment of Wilshire horse..did charge and route 1400 of the King's forces.
1796 R. Southey Joan of Arc viii. 583 Then sallying forth, With such fierce onset charged them in the rear.
1857 T. Hughes Tom Brown's School Days i. v. 122 Meet them like Englishmen, you School-house boys, and charge them home.
1870 W. C. Bryant tr. Homer Iliad I. vii. 223 On foot to charge the foe.
1882 Daily News 4 Mar. The Englishmen asserting that Payne charged Maclagan over before he got the ball.
1889 N.E.D. at Charge Mod. The infuriated bull charged one of the horses.
b. intransitive or absol.
ΘΚΠ
society > armed hostility > attack > charge > [verb (intransitive)]
to-resea1225
reamc1275
shovec1400
frontc1540
chargea1616
storm1632
the world > movement > motion in a certain direction > movement towards a thing, person, or position > move towards [verb (intransitive)] > in forceful, violent, or hostile manner
chargea1616
a1616 W. Shakespeare Henry VI, Pt. 3 (1623) i. iv. 15 Richard cry'de, Charge, and giue no foot of ground. View more context for this quotation
1652 J. Wadsworth tr. P. de Sandoval Civil Wars Spain 362 Hee, with five Horsemen more, charged into the Earl of Venavente's troop.
1663 S. Butler Hudibras: First Pt. i. ii. 140 Through thickest of his foes he charg'd.
1808 W. Scott Marmion vi. xxxiii. 366 ‘Charge, Chester, charge! On, Stanley, on!’....Were the last words of Marmion.
1855 W. H. Prescott Hist. Reign Philip II of Spain I. i. vii. 232 Orders were then given to charge, and, spurring forward their horses, the whole column came thundering on against the enemy.
1878 H. M. Stanley Through Dark Continent I. 219 As she [the canoe] charged up, bold and confident, propelled by the paddlers.
1881 Times 14 Feb. Hunting A mob of hard-riding strangers charging across their fields and breaking through their fences.
1889 N.E.D. at Charge Mod. The elephant charged at the tree with terrific violence.
This entry has not yet been fully updated (first published 1889; most recently modified version published online December 2021).
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