Chafer

noun

noun ·Rare ·Advanced level

Definitions

Noun
  1. 1
    One who chafes.
  2. 2
    Any of several scarab beetles, including the cockchafer, leaf chafer, and rose chafer.

    "He who torments the Chafers sprite Weaves a Bower in endleſs Night"

  3. 3
    A vessel for heating water; hence, a dish or pan.

    "A chafer of water to cool the ends of the irons."

  4. 4
    A vessel for holding burning coals or hot water used as a warmer.

    "Enter Mephoſtophilis with the Chafer of fire. / Meph. See Fauſtus here is fire, ſet it on."

Synonyms

All synonyms
broilercookerinsectpot

Example

More examples

"A chafer of water to cool the ends of the irons."

Etymology

Etymology 1

From Middle English chaufour, chafour, from Anglo-Norman chaufour, from Latin calefactōrium; equivalent to chafe + -er.

Etymology 2

From Middle English chafur, chavere, from Old English ċeafor, from Proto-West Germanic *kefrō (“beetle”). Cognate with German Käfer and Dutch kever.

Related phrases

European chaferflower chafernoble chaferleaf chaferrose chaferscarab beetle

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Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.