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Chaff

//t͡ʃæf// noun, verb

Definitions

Noun
  1. 1
    The inedible parts of a grain-producing plant. uncountable, usually

    "To separate out the chaff, early cultures tossed baskets of grain into the air and let the wind blow away the lighter chaff."

  2. 2
    foil in thin strips; ejected into the air as a radar countermeasure wordnet
  3. 3
    Straw or hay cut up fine for the food of cattle. uncountable, usually

    "By adding chaff to his corn, the horse must take more time to eat it, and time is given for the commencement of digestion, before fermentation can occur. In this way chaff is very useful, especially after long fasts."

  4. 4
    material consisting of seed coverings and small pieces of stem or leaves that have been separated from the seeds wordnet
  5. 5
    Any excess or unwanted material, resource, or person; anything worthless. figuratively, uncountable, usually

    "the chaff and ruin of the times"

Show 2 more definitions
  1. 6
    Light jesting talk; banter; raillery. uncountable, usually

    "As for Huxter, perfectly at good-humour with himself, and the world, it never entered his mind that he could be disagreeable to anybody; and the little dispute, or “chaff,” as he styled it, of Vauxhall, was a trifle which he did not in the least regard."

  2. 7
    Loose material, e.g. small strips of aluminum foil dropped from aircraft, intended to interfere with radar detection. uncountable, usually
Verb
  1. 1
    To use light, idle language by way of fun or ridicule; to banter. intransitive
  2. 2
    be silly or tease one another wordnet
  3. 3
    To make fun of; to turn into ridicule by addressing in ironical or bantering language. transitive

    "We were talking about it at mess, yesterday, and chaffing Derby Oaks—until he was as mad as a hatter."

  4. 4
    To cut up (straw or hay) for use as cattle feed. transitive

Etymology

Etymology 1

From Middle English chaf, from Old English ċeaf, from Proto-West Germanic *kaf. Cognate with Scots caff, Saterland Frisian Sääf, West Frisian tsjêf, Dutch kaf, German Low German Kaff, regional German Kaff.

Etymology 2

From Middle English chaf, from Old English ċeaf, from Proto-West Germanic *kaf. Cognate with Scots caff, Saterland Frisian Sääf, West Frisian tsjêf, Dutch kaf, German Low German Kaff, regional German Kaff.

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