chafer

[chey-fer]

noun

any scarabaeid beetle.

Origin of chafer

before 1000; Middle English cheaffer, chaver, Old English ceofor; akin to German Käfer

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Examples from the Web for chafer

Historical Examples of chafer

As the chafer spoke they heard a shrill squeak overhead which chilled them to the very marrow.
Little Johannes
Frederik van Eeden
Then the chafer, who was by a whole day the elder, disappeared among the blades of grass, leaving the other greatly impressed.
Little Johannes
Frederik van Eeden
A chafer buzzed by, a small black cat played with its tail on some steps in a recess.
The Freelands
John Galsworthy
A single eye in his head, as broad as an oxhide, as black as a chafer, with three pupils therein.
The Harvard Classics, Volume 49, Epic and Saga
Various
Wide as an oxhide was the single eye protruding from his forehead, with seven pupils therein, which were black as a chafer.
The Harvard Classics, Volume 49, Epic and Saga
Various

British Dictionary definitions for chafer

chafer

noun

any of various scarabaeid beetles, such as the cockchafer and rose chafer

Word Origin for chafer

Old English ceafor; related to Old Saxon kevera, Old High German chevar

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for chafer

kind of beetle, Old English ceafor "beetle, cock-chafer," from Proto-Germanic *kabraz- (cf. Old Saxon kevera, Dutch kever, Old High German chevar, German Käfer), literally "gnawer," from PIE *gep(h)- "jaw, mouth" (see jowl (n.1)).