cherubin 
He, when wee least deserv'd, sent out a gentle gale, and 
message of peace from the wings of those his Cherubing, 
that fanne his Mercy -seat. 
Milton, Reformation in Bug., ii. 
Whose face is paradise, but fenc'd from sin, 
For God in either eye hath plac'd a cherubin. 
Dryden, To the Duchess of Ormond. 
II. a. Cherubic; angelic: as, "her cherubin 
look," Shak., T. of A.,iv. 3. 
cherubin 2 !, Obsolete plural of cherub. 
cherup (cher'up), v. ; pret. and pp. cheruped or 
cherupped, ppr. cheruping or eltcruppiiig. [A 
form of chirrup for chirp*. Of. cheerup 2 .] I. 
intrans. To chirp or chirrup: as, "clterupping 
birds," Draytiin. 
II. trans. To excite or urge on by chirruping. 
[Rare.] 
He cherups brisk his ear-erecting steed. 
Cowper, Task, iii. 9. 
cherup (cher'up), n. [< cherup, >.] A chirp or 
chirrup. [Colloq.] 
chervice (cher'vis), n. A fine kind of tallow 
imported into Turkey from the ports of the 
Black Sea for use in cookery. 
chervil (eher'vil), n. [Early mod. E. also 
= MLG. kenelde = OHG. chervola, -ella, -ilia, 
MHG. kervele, kervel, G. kerbel = Icel. kerfill = 
Sw. kyrfvel = Dan. kjorvel = OF. cherfuel, F. 
cerfeuil = Sp. cerafolio = Pg. cerefolio = It. 
cerfoglio, < L. cairefolium, ML. also cerefolium, 
cerifolium, prop., as in NL., chcerophyllum, < 
Gr. x ai pty v 'M- ov , chervil, < xalpetv, rejoice, + 
<t>v%hov = L. folium, a leaf: with reference to 
the pleasant odor of the leaves.] 1. A gar- 
den pot-herb, Anthriscus Cerefolium, of the nat- 
ural order Unibelliferw. The bur or hemlock 
chervil is A. vulgaris; the wild or cow chervil, 
A. sylvestris. Both are natives of Europe. 
2. A name of several other plants of different 
genera Needle chervil, Scandix Pecten-Veneris, a 
corn-neld weed like chervil, but with slender-beaked fruit. 
Rough Chervil, Chcerophyllum temulum. Sweet 
Chervil, or sweet cicely, Myrrhis vdorata, an aromatic 
and stimulant umbellifer formerly used as a pot-herb. 
950 
of each are placed a bishop, a knight, and a rook, in this 
order. The pieces move according to certain laws over 
unoccupied squares, the knight alone being free from 
this latter restriction (see below). The king moves one 
square in any direction (except into check); the queen 
in any direction and to any distance along the rows of 
squares, and also along the diagonals; the rooks or cas- 
tles in any direction along the files or ranks of squares ; 
the bishops (of which there is one on each color) in any 
direction along the diagonals of the color on which they 
are originally placed ; the knights one square on one row 
and then two squares on the row at right angles to it 
(or two squares and then one) in any direction, without 
reference to interposing pieces ; and the pawns one square 
ahead on the flies. A piece is taken by removing it from the 
board and placing the capturing piece in its place. In tak- 
ing, each piece makes some one of its ordinary moves, ex- 
cept the pawn, which takes by moving one square forward 
on a diagonal ; the knight alone can take by jumping over 
an intervening piece. The object of the game is to cap- 
ture the king of the opposing party ; and this is effected 
by an attack so planned that it is impossible, either by 
moving the opposing king or by interposing another piece, 
to prevent him from being taken on the next move that 
is, by placing the opposing king in a check from which he 
cannot escape. (See checki, checkmate, and stalemate.) The 
squares of the board are commonly numbered along the 
flies, forward from either party, from the principal pieces 
placed upon them at the beginning of a game : as, the 
Were playing at the chess. 
The Young Tamlane (Child's Ballads, I. 117). 
Chess has been known to the Chinese for many centuries 
under a form not very unlike our own game. The board 
has 64 squares, is played with 16 men on each side, the 
two at the corners having equal power, and the next two 
(called horses) having a move equivalent to that of our 
knight. The chief differences are that the Chinese adver- 
saries are separated by a river, over which some pieces 
cannot pass, while the " King " is confined to a square of 
nine moves only ; and that the pieces are placed upon the 
intersections of the lines forming the board, instead of on 
the squares. Giles, Glossary of Reference, p. 38. 
The origin of the game of chess is lost in obscurity, a 
fact which has rather invited than repelled learned specu- 
lations on the subject. The invention of the pastime has 
been variously ascribed to the Greeks, Romans, Babyloni- 
ans, Scythians, Egyptians, Jews, Persians, Chinese, Hin- 
dus, Arabians, Araucanians, Castilians, Irish, and Welsh. 
Encyc. Brit., V. 596. 
Chess-type, printing-type made to illustrate the game of 
uble. 
chesbolleH, . Same as cheesebowl. 
chesbolle 2 t, n. A Middle English form of chi- 
bol, cibol. See cibol. 
cheseM, * A Middle English form of choose. 
Chese 2 t, A Middle English form of cheese*. 
Cheshire cat. See cat*. 
chesiblet, n. A Middle English form of chasuble. 
chesil, n. See chisel*. 
cheslip (ches'lip), n. Same as cheeselip. 
chesnut, . See chestnut. 
chesont, chesount, n. See cheason, eneheson. 
chess 1 (ches), re. [Early mod. E. also chesse, 
chests, < ME. ches, chesse, < OF. esches, eschas, 
eskies, nom. sing, of eschec, eschac, check; F. 
pi. tehees, chess, = It. scacchi (ML. scaeci), pi., 
= D. schaak = G. schach = Dan. schak = Sw. 
schack = Icel. skdk, chess, ult. < Pers. shah, king: 
see check*, n., and shah.] A very ancient game 
played by two persons or parties with thirty- 
two pieces on a checkered board divided into 
sixty-four squares. The squares are alternately light 
and dark, and in beginning a game the board must be so 
Chess-board, with pieces in position. 
placed that the square at the right-hand corner is a light 
one. The vertical rows of squares are called flies, those 
which run from right to left, ranks or lines, and those 
(of the same color) which run obliquely, diagonals. Each 
party has sixteen pieces, differently colored to distinguish 
those of one side from those of the other, viz., a king, a 
eight pawns placed on the next line in front. The'king 
and queen are placed on the two middle squares, the 
queen on her own color (light or dark), and by the side 
_ The com- 
mon name in the United States of several spe- 
cies of Sromus, especially . secalinus, which 
bears some resemblance to oats, and is fre- 
quently more or less abundant as a weed in 
wheat-fields. Also called cheat. 
chess 3 (ches), n. [Cf. equiv. chessex, and see 
chess-tree. Appar. a corruption of chestnut; cf. 
Sp. castaftuelas, chess-trees, < castana, chest- 
nut.] One of the planks forming the roadway 
of a military bridge. The chesses lie upon the balks, 
which are longitudinal timbers resting upon the bateaux 
or pontoons. 
The chesses or planks which form the roadway should be 
made of a shorter length for a bridg-; which is designed 
for light trafflc than for one which is designed for heavy 
trafflc. Encyc. Brit., XIX. 458. 
chess 4 t, n. An obsolete variant of chase*. 
Perchance that they may tak the chest, 
Ere they come to the stonnes. 
Battle of Balrinnes (Child's Ballads, VII. 222). 
chess 5 t, n. Obsolete form of jess. 
chess-applet (ches'ap'l), n. An old name for 
the service-berry, the fruit of Pyrus Aria. 
chess-board (ches'bord), n. The board used in 
the game of chess ; a checker-board. 
Cards are dealt, and chess-boards brought 
To ease the pain of coward thought. 
Prior, Alma, iii. 
Chess-board canvas, a thick cotton canvas used as a 
foundation for embroidery, and divided into squares, like 
a chess-board, in alternating patterns. 
chessel (ches'el), n. [A corruption of cheslip, 
cheeselip.} A mold or vat in which cheese is 
formed. 
chesses (ches'ez), n.^Z. [Seec*es 2 .] A species 
of peony, Pceonia officinalis, naturalized in Eng- 
land. 
chessex (ches'eks), n. Same as chess 3 . 
chessman (ches'man), n.: pi. chessmen (-men). 
[< chess* + man.'] One of the pieces used in the 
game of chess. 
chessnert (ches'ner), n. [< chess* + -n- + -er*. 
Cf. citiner."] A chess-player. 
Tender's my game, which, like a politic chessner, 
I must not seem to see. Middleton, Game at Chess, iv. 
chessomt (ches'um), n. [A variant of ME. 
chesel: see chesil, chisel*. ~\ A kind of sandy and 
clayey earth. HalUwell. 
The tendor chessom and mellow earth is the best, being 
mere mould. Bacon, Nat. Hist. 
chess-player (ches'pla/er), n. One who plays 
chess ; one skilled in the game of chess. 
chess-rook (ches'ruk), n. In her., a represen- 
tation of the rook or castle in the game of chess, 
chesten 
used as a bearing. It is a modern bearing, and 
is drawn in various fantastic ways. 
chess-tree (ches'tre), n. In ship-building, a 
beam of wood formerly bolted to the side of a 
ship abaft the fore-chains, to which the main- 
tack was hauled down. 
Chessy copper. See copper. 
chessylite (ches'i-litV, n. [< Chessy-les- Mines, 
a town near Lyons in France, where the mineral 
occurs, + Gr. Aidof, a stone.] Same as Chessy 
copper (which see, under copper). 
chest 1 (chest), n. [Also dial, and early mod. E. 
chist; < ME. chest, chist, cheste, chiste, assibilated 
forms of kist (North. E. and Sc. kisf), a box, 
coffin, ark, < AS. cist, cyst, cest, a box, coffin, = 
OFries. kiste = D. kist, kast = OHG. kista, MHG. 
G. kiste = Dan. kiste = Sw. Icel. kista, < L. cista, 
< Gr. Kiarri, a box, chest. Hence also (from L.) 
cist 1 , cist*.~\ 1. A box, properly one of con- 
siderable size, made of wood, iron, or other 
material, with a hinged lid, used as a deposi- 
tory for treasure, papers of record, clothing, or 
other articles. 
Y s d chest to be locked with three seuerall lockes at the 
least, wch shal be kept by three of the said (feoffees. 
English Gads (E. E. T. S.), p. 257. 
Specifically 2. In com., a box-shaped case in 
which certain kinds of goods, as tea, indigo, 
opium, etc., are packed for transit. Hence 
3. The quantity such a case contains; a cus- 
tomary but uncertain measure of capacity for 
a few commodities : as, a chest of isinglass is 3 
hundredweight ; a chest of cochineal is H hun- 
dredweight. 4f. A coffin. 
He is now deed and nayled in his chest. 
Chaucer, Prol. to Clerk's Tale, 1. 29. 
When Darius in hope of treasure opened the sepulchre 
of Semiramis, he found a chist which being opened, a ven- 
omous pestilence issued. Purchas, Pilgrimage, p. 66. 
5. The trunk of the body from the neck to the 
belly; the thorax (which see) Bridal ehestt, an 
ornamental box or coffer made to contain the robes and 
laces of a bride, either brought with her as a part of her 
outfit or presented by the bridegroom. See casgone. Chest 
of drawers. See drawer. Chest of viols, a set of in- 
struments of the viol kind, comprising two trebles, two 
tenors, and two basses, which formed the nucleus of an 
orchestra in the seventeenth century. Also called a consort 
of viols. Middle chest, in artillery, the front chest on 
the body of an artillery caisson, so called from its position 
between the rear chest on the body and the chest on the 
limber. Seaman's Chest, the wooden box usually form- 
ing all the luggage of a sailor in the merchant service. 
It is fitted with one or more tills, and is usually long and 
very narrow, the back sloping or battering a little, so that 
the cover is narrower than the bottom, in order that the 
chest may fit against the ship's side in the forecastle. 
chest 1 (chest), i). *. [< chest*, n.] 1. To deposit 
in a chest; hoard. [Bare.] 2f. To place in a 
coffin. 
We chested our late commander. 
E. Terry, Voyage to East Indies (1656), p. 41. 
chest 2 t, n. [ME., also cheast, < AS. cedst, also 
(without the formative -t) ceas = OFries. kdse, 
strife, contention.] Debate; quarrel; strife; 
enmity. 
Holy wryt telleth 
What cheste, and meschaunce to the children of Israel, 
Ful on hem that free were thorwe two false preestes. 
Piers Plowman (C), i. 105. 
The sinne of contumelie or strif and cheste. 
Chaucer, Parson's Tale. 
chest-bellows (chest 'bel'oz), n. A piston- 
bellows. 
chested (ches 'ted), a. [< chest*, n., + -ed?.] 
Having a chest (of a specified kind): used 
chiefly in composition: as, broad-cteted, nar- 
Tow-chested. 
chesteinet, n. See chesten. 
chestent, [Early mod. E., < ME. chesten, 
chesteine, chesteyne, cheston, chestan, chasten, 
chastein, chestein, chasteyn, etc., also unassibi- 
lated kesteyn, casteyn, castany (after L.); (a) 
partly < AS. cisten-bedm, cyst-beam, also cystel, = 
OHG. chestinna, kestinna, MHG. kestene, kesten, 
G. dial, keste, MHG. also kastanie, kastane, G. 
kastanie = D. kastanje = Dan. Sw. kastanje, a 
chestnut; and (6) partly < OF. chastaine, chas- 
taigne, castaigne, F. cMtaigne = Pr. castanha, 
castagna = Cat. castanya = Sp. castana = Pg. 
castanha = It. castagna, chestnut; < L. casta- 
nea, ML. also castania, castenia, a chestnut, the 
chestnut-tree, < Gr. Kacrravca, a chestnut, usu- 
ally in pi. naarava, Kaordvia, Kaaravfia, chestnuts 
(/caorapof, a chestnut-tree), also prop, napva Ka- 
araveta, or Kapva Kaaravala or KaaravalKa, nuts of 
Castana, < Kdarava, Katrravaia, a city in Pontus 
where chestnut-trees abounded. Hence ches- 
ten-nut, contr. chestnut, q. v.] 1. A chestnut. 
2. The chestnut-tree. 
Chasten wol uppe of plauntes that alone 
Upgrowe, or of his seedes multiplie. 
Palladius, Husbondrie (E. E. T. S.), p. 216. 
