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
Etymology
Origin of chaffer1
1175–1225; Middle English chaffare, derivative of chapfare trading journey, equivalent to Old English cēap trade ( see cheap) + faru journey; see 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
I wisht I'd 'a' had him runnin' the 'Guzzuh' instead of that little chicken-breasted chaffer they three-shelled on to me in Los Angeles.
From Overland Red A Romance of the Moonstone Cañon Trail by Anton Otto Fischer
We do not bargain and chaffer over our feelings, Hester and I. Surely you mistake, and stir storms in teacups.
From The Kempton-Wace Letters by Jack London
You didn’t know I could chaffer Latin with the best of ’em, did you?
From The Nebuly Coat by John Meade Falkner
But we know that if Assyrian balm was ever for the world's chaffer it was in the days of Borso, the good Duke.
From Little Novels of Italy by Maurice Henry Hewlett
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Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
