| cerecloth | n. | waterproof cloth impregnated with wax, used to wrap corpses or parcels | ||
| cerement | n. | (usu. pl cerements) cerecloths for wrapping the dead; burial clothes or wrappings | ||
| cerise | adj. | bright red | ||
| certes | adv. | certainly, in truth, assuredly | ||
| cess | n. | tax, assessment | ||
| ceteris paribus | adv. | with all other things remaining the same | Latin | |
| chacma | n. | Cape baboon | ||
| chaffer | v. | to haggle, to bargain | ||
| chaffinch | n. | common finch | ||
| chalazion | n. | swollen bump on eyelid caused by clogged oil gland | ||
| Chalcolithic | adj. | Eneolithic, of or related to the Copper Age | ||
| chalybeate | adj. | containing iron salts | ||
| chamade | n. | drum or trumpet signal inviting enemy to parley | ||
| chamfer | v. | to cut away material (usually at 45º) to make a join with another forming an edge or angle | ||
| chancel | n. | area around altar reserved for use of officiating clergy, usu. the eastern part of the church | ||
| chancer | n. | reckless and unscrupulous opportunist | slang | |
| chancre | n. | venereal ulcer, painless with a hard base | ||
| chandelier bid | n. | underhanded auction technique whereby auctioneer pretends to notice a (nonexistent) bid from a distant part of the room so as to start the bidding at a higher figure than otherwise might occur | idiom | |
| chandu | n. | strongest preparation of opium for smoking | ||
| chaogenous | adj. | born from chaos | ||
| chape | n. | metal point folded over or sometimes enclosing the tip of a sword scabbard | ||
| chapfallen | adj. | dejected, dispirited | ||
| chapiter | n. | decorated capital atop a pillar | architecture | |
| char | n. | odd job, household chore | ||
| charabanc | n. | (more properly char-à-banc) sightseeing bus with bench seats and no center aisle | ||
| charivari | n. | mock serenade with kitchen implements for newly marrieds; clamor of noise | ||
| charlotte | n. | sweet or savory dish contained in bread, consisting of custard or fruit or other filling | ||
| charnel | n. | vault for bones of the dead | ||
| charpoy | n. | Indian bedstead using rope or tape netting | ||
| charwoman | n. | day-laboring woman hired to perform general cleaning around house or office | ||
| chary | adj. | wary, shy, sparing, choosy | ||
| chastise | v. | to punish; to castigate, to criticize severely | ||
| chasuble | n. | outer sleeveless garment worn over other priestly garments by the celebrant | ||
| chatelaine | n. | ornamental chains attached to a woman’s belt, used for carrying keys, scissors, or other tools | ||
| chatoyant | adj. | of changing luster or color; of jewelry cut so that a streak of light is reflected | ||
| chautauqua | n. | assembly for social education and entertainment, originally held in Chautauqua, New York each summer in late 19th and early 20th centuries | ||
| cheese-paring | adj. | parsimonious, stingy | ||
| chela | n. | pincer claw of crustacean or scorpion | ||
| chelicera | n. | one of the pair of claws before the mouth of certain arachnids and horshoe crabs | ||
| chelonian | adj. | of or related to turtles | ||
| chemotropic | adj. | characterized by movement or growth in response to a particular substance | ||
| chequered | adj. | marked by the vicissitudes of fortune | ||
| chert | n. | flinty quartz rock | ||
| cheval glass | n. | full-length swinging mirror hung in a frame | ||
| cheval-de-frise | n. | portable obstacle of wood or iron shaped like a larger toy ‘jack’, used to stop cavalry charges or otherwise impede military movements; spikes or glass embedded into the top of a wall | ||
| chevauchee | n. | calvary raid into enemy territory | ||
| cheviot | n. | coarse woolen twill fabric | ||
| chibouque | n. | very long-stemmed Turkish pipe for tobacco (also chibouk) | ||
| chicane | n. | 1 | subterfuge, trick | |
| chicane | v. | to quibble, cavil |
