chaffer
1 Americannoun
verb (used without object)
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to bargain; haggle.
to chaffer over a price.
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to bandy words; chatter.
to chaffer about nothing in particular.
verb (used with object)
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to bandy (words).
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Obsolete. to trade or deal in; barter.
noun
verb
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(intr) to haggle or bargain
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to chatter, talk, or say idly; bandy (words)
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obsolete (tr) to deal in; barter
noun
Other Word Forms
- chafferer noun
Etymology
Origin of chaffer1
1175–1225; Middle English chaffare, derivative of chapfare trading journey, equivalent to Old English cēap trade ( cheap ) + faru journey; fare
Origin of chaffer2
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
There appraisers sit with ancient scales, chaffer to the utmost kran,* seal their purchase with a solemn glass of tea.
From Time Magazine Archive
Sometimes a particular "lot" will attract the attention of a spectator, and he will chaffer about it for a while; but the sales do not often appear to be very brisk.
From The Atlantic Monthly, Volume 20, No. 121, November, 1867 by Various
Brought face to face with the question of work and 205 wage, all the shrewd calculating instincts of a race of women accustomed to chaffer and bargain awoke within her.
From A Singer from the Sea by Barr, Amelia Edith Huddleston
And thankful she was that Goodman Kellar came the next moment with eggs and butter for Mistress Cory Ann to chaffer or bargain about.
From Maid Sally by Cheever, Harriet A.
Ah! honest love would make no chaffer thus!
From Myra's Well A Tale of All-Hallow-E'en by Dawson, George Francis
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
