chip 
3. Anything dried up and deprived of strength 
and character. 
He was ... a chiji, weak water-yruel, a tame rabbit. 
Specifically 4. The dried dung of the Ameri- 
can bison; a buffalo-chip. [Colloq.] 5. Xiint.. 
the quadrant-shaped piece of wood attached to 
the end of the log-lino. See log. 
Had it nnt heen fur I he MM hum aft which sent thecA/;> 
home, and threw her continually ott her course, the In^ 
would have shown her tu have hecn going M>niAWhftt faster. 
H. II. Dana, Jr., Kel.jrc tin- Mast, |>. H& 
6. One of the small disks or counters used in 
poker and some other games at cards, usually 
of ivory or bone, marked to represent various 
sums of money. 7. A carpenter: commonly 
in the plural. [Naut. slang.] 8. A small 
wedge-shaped piece of ivory tised in rough-tun- 
ing a piano. ^A chip of the old block, a familiar 
phrase applied tu a child or an adult who, either in persnn 
or in disposition and character, resembles his father. 
"Yes, yes, t'hutfey; Jonas is a chip of the old block. 
It's a very old block now. t'hult'ey. " said the old man. 
IHi'ki-nx, Martin (Tmzzlewit, xviii. 
chip" (chip), v. i. ; pret. and pp. chipped, ppr. 
chipping. [Imitative; cf. cheep, and see chijft, 
n., chip-bird, rliippi-r-. i\, clii/imunk, etc.] To 
utter a short, dry. crisp sound, as a bird or a 
bat; cheep; chirp. 
chip- (chip) ? M. [< chip 2 , r.] The cry of the bat. 
chip-ax (clup'aks), n. A small ax used to chip 
a block or timber to nearly the shape to which 
it is to be dressed. 
chip-bird (chip'berd), TO. A popular name of 
the Spizella soda/in or domcstica, a small frin- 
gilline bird of North America, very common and 
familiar in most parts of the United States. It 
is about 6 inches long, has a reddish cap, streaked back, 
and plain grayish under parts ; builds a neat hair-lined 
nest in bushes, and lays greenish eggs with dark spots. 
Also called hair-bird, chippitiy-bird, chipping-sparrow, 
and chippy. 
chip-breaker (chip'bra"ker), TO. 1. A metal 
plate placed at the back of the bit of a carpen- 
ters' plane, to bend up the bit and prevent the 
splitting of the board. E.H. Knight. 2. In a 
matching-machine, a piece fastened to the side 
cutter-head frame, to break off the chips and 
thus prevent the edge of the board from split- 
ting- 
chip-chop 1 (chip'chop), a. [Reduplication of 
chopi.~] Broken; unmusical. [Rare.] 
The sweet Italian and the chip-chop Dutch. 
John Taylor. 
chip-chop 2 (chip'chop), TO. [Imitative of the 
bird's note ; cf. chip 2 , cheep, and chiff-chaff."] A 
name of the chiff-chaff. Montagu. 
chipmonk, n. Same as chipmunk. 
chipmunk, chipmuck (chip'mungk, -muk), . 
[Also written 
chipmuk; said , 
to be of Amer. 
Ind. origin, and 
appar. orig. 
imitative. Cf. 
chip 2 , etc.] A 
name of the 
hackee or chip- 
ping-squirrel of 
the United 
States, Tamias 
striatus, and of 
other species 
of the genus 
Tamias (which see). The common chipmunk is a 
small striped species, about 6 inches long, with the tail 4 
inches; it is reddish-brown in the upper parts, and has 
two white stripes and four black ones on the sides. It is 
abundant in eastern North America, and furnishes a con- 
necting link between the arboreal squirrels proper ami 
the ground-squirrels or spermophiles. 
chipper 1 (chip'er), . [< chipl + -erl. Cf. chop- 
per*.] One who or that which chips or cuts. 
Ye must haue thre pantry knyues, one knyfe to square 
trenchour loues, au other to be a chyppere. 
Babeei Book (E. E. T. S.), p. 266. 
chipper 2 (chip'er), v. i. [E. dial., freq. of chip 2 , 
q. v.] To chip; chirp; chirrup. 
chipper 3 (chip'er), a. [Assibilated form of E. 
dial, kipper, lively, brisk: see kipper 2 .'] Ac- 
tive; cheerful; lively; brisk; pert. [Colloq., 
U. S.] 
He turned up at last all alive, and chipper as a skunk- 
blackbird. H. B. Stowe, Oldtown, p. 87. 
chipping (chip'ing), n. [< ME. chippinge; ver- 
bal u. ofcliipi.] 1. The act of cutting or knock- 
ing off in small pieces. It is an operation frequent- 
ly resorted to with cast-iron when it is taken from the 
mold, in order to remove the dark rind or outside crust, 
which is harder than the rest and would destroy the file. 
The operation is performed with the chipping-chisel. 
965 
2. The flyiiig or breaking off in small 
of the edges of pottery and porcelain. 3. A 
chip ; a piece cut off or separated by a cutting 
or engraving instrument or by a blow; a frag- 
ment. 
They dung their land with the chtuuin</> of a sort of soft 
stmie. Mortimer, Husbandry. 
chipping-bird (chip'ing-berd), n. Same as chip- 
bira. 
chipping-chisel (chip'ing-chiz"el), n. The 
chisel employed in the operation of chipping; 
a cold-chisel having a face somewhat convex, 
and an angle of about 80. See chijijiiny, 1. 
dripping-machine (chip'ing-raa-shen'), . A 
planing-machiue used for cutting dyewoods 
into chips. E. II. Kniijlit. 
chipping-piece (chip'ing-pes), n. In foundimi : 
(a) An elevated cast or forged surface, afford- 
ing surplus nietal for reduction by the tools. 
(6) The projecting piece of iron cast on the 
face of a piece of iron framing^ when intended 
to be rested against another piece. 
chipping-sparrow (chip'iug-spar"6), n. Same 
chipping-sauirrel(chip'ing-skwur' l 'el), . Same 
as MfoMMM. 
chipping-up (chip'iug-up'), . The process of 
rough -tuning a piano with a chip. 
chippy 1 (chip'i), a. [< chipl + -yl.] Abound- 
ing in chips ; produced by chips. 
Here my chilled veins are warmed by chippy fires. 
Savage, The Wanderer, i. 
Chipmunk (Tamias striatus}. 
chippy 2 (chip'i), n. ; pi. chippies (-iz). [< 
+ dim. -y.~] A familiar name of the chip-bird. 
chir (cher), TO. [E. Ind.] The Pinus lo-ngifolia, 
a large pine-tree of the northwestern Hima- 
layas. The wood is not durable ; but the tree yields a 
larger amount of resin than any other of the Himalayan 
pines. 
The chir, or three-leaved Himalayan pine. 
Encyc. Brit., XIV. 155. 
chir-. See chiro-. 
chira (che'ra), n. Same as chiru. 
Ghiracanthus (kl-ra-kan'thus), n. [NL., < Gr. 
Xeip, the hand, + anavQa, a thorn.] 1. A genus 
of fossil ganoid fishes of the Devonian or Old 
Red Sandstone formation, covered with small 
brightly enameled scales, and having all its 
fins armed with defensive spines. It abounds 
at Gamrie, in Banffshire, Scotland, and other 
localities in Great Britain. 2. A genus of ne- 
matoid worms or threadworms, entirely cov- 
ered with spines. C. hispidum is an example. 
Also Cheiracanthus. 
chiragon (M'ra-gon), n. [< Gr. x^P, the hand, 
+ ayuv, ppr. of ayeiv, lead, drive : see act, .] 
A writing-machine for the blind ; a cecograph. 
E. H. Knight. 
chiragra (ki-rag'ra or ki'ra-gra), n. [< L. chi- 
ragra, < Gr. xeip&ypa, < x 'P> the hand, + aypa, 
seizure. Cf. podagra.] Gout in the hand. 
chiragric, chiragrical (ki-rag'rik, -ri-kal), a. 
[< L. chiragricus, < Gr. *x f 'P a 7P' K ^f> ( X e 'P<*'yp a , 
chiragra.] Pertaining to or having gout in 
the hand ; of the nature of chiragra. 
Chiranthodendreae (kl-ran-tho-den'dre-e), n. 
pi. [NL., < Chiranthodendron (< Gr. x c 'P> hand, 
+ avSof, flower, + SevSpov, tree) + -C<E.] An order 
of polypetalous dicotyledonous plants, some- 
what anomalous in its characters, and inter- 
mediate between the guttiferal and malval 
groups of orders. It includes two monotypic 
genera, Frcmontia, of California, and Chiran- 
thodendron, the hand-flower tree of Mexico. 
chiravari (chir-a-yar'i), TO. See charinari. 
chirchet, A Middle English form of church. 
Ohirella (kl-rel'a), n. [NL., < Gr. x"P, the 
hand.] The typical genus of Chirellidce. Len- 
denfeld. 
Chirellidae (ki-rel'i-de), TO. pi. [NL., < Chirella 
+ -id(e.~\ A family of sponges, named by Len- 
denfeld from the genus Chirella : same as Spi- 
rastrellidai of Ridley and Dendy. 
chiretta (chi-ret'ii), . [Hind, chiraeta, chiraita, 
a species of gentian, and the bitter derived from 
it.] An East Indian bitter derived from the 
dried stems of Ophelia Chirata, a gentianaceous 
plant from the north of India. It is very similar in 
its properties to gentian, and is used medicinally for sim- 
ilar purposes, especially in India, where it is much valued. 
Several other species of Ophelia and allied genera are 
known in India by the same name and have the same 
virtues. 
chirid (ki'rid), TO, A fish of the family Cliirida. 
Chiridae (ki'ri-de), n. pi. [NL., < Chirus + -fate.] 
A family of acanthopterygian fishes, exempli- 
fied by the genus Chirus, to which different 
limits have been assigned by ichthyologists, in 
Chirocentrus 
Gill'g system it includes tin,,,- ri,n,,;,ira which have the 
dorsal elongated, consisting uf nearly equal acalitlinpter 
ous and arthropteroiis pnrtiuiis. a Intiir anal OiUmt , <|ii:d 
tit the artliroplei'Miis dm sal), \\cll tl>'\' lojied thoracic veu- 
trals, I'c.inpnsM-.l bead, lateral eyes, branchial apertures 
extensive, but with the DMmbnoM innit m- less united, 
an antntrsiform compressc'l l,.,.l v. ami a nnnlelat.: nltin- 
l>er of vertebrse. 
Chiridota (kl-ri-do'tii), w. [NL.] Same as 
CUfodota. li'ifi/HinHH, 1836. 
chiriet, . A Middle English forru of chcrryl. 
chirimoya. . Same as cln > (///<( . 
Chirinae (ki-ri'ne), H. pi. [NL., < Chini* + 
-(.] A subfamily of t'liiriilir. typified by the 
genus Chirus, with the anal spines obsolete or 
reduced to one, the head blunt forward, and 
the preoperele entire. 
chirkH (cherk), . i. [< ME. rliirlci-n (in the 
second sense with a var. chirpcn, > mod. E. 
eliirpl ), appar. regarded as directly imitative (= 
G. dial, zirken, schirken, chirp), but in form a 
variant of charkcn (cherken, chorken, E. dial. 
chark), creak, < AS. cearcian, creak, crack, me- 
tathesis of cracian, > E. crack: see </(//', 
crack, andcf. chirp 1 , chirm, chirr.'] If. To creak ; 
shriek; groan. 
Al ful of chirkynti was that sory place. 
Chaucer, Knight's Tale (ed. Skeat), 1. 1148. 
2. To make a noise, as a bird; chirp. 
And kiste hire swete and chirketh [var. chirfcth] u a 
sparwe. Chaucer, Summoner's Tale, 1. 96. 
Also spelled cherk. 
chirk 2 (cherk), v. i. [Origin uncertain; per- 
haps a var. of chirp; cf. chirk 1 , v. Cf. c/iirp 2 .] 
To be or become cheerful. [Colloq., New Eng.] 
To chirk up, to cheer up. 
chirk 2 (cherk), a. Lively; cheerful; pert; in 
good spirits. [Colloq., New Eng.] 
She was just as chirk and chipper as a wren, a-wearin' 
her liftle sun-bunnet, and goin' a-nuckleberryin'. 
//. B. Stouv, Oldtown, p. 34. 
chirm (cherm), v. [Also charm (see charm'*), 
formerly written cherm, churm, < ME. chirmen, 
< AS. cirman, cyrman (= MD. MLG. kermen, 
karmen), cry out, shout, make a loud noise ; cf. 
cirm, cyrm, clamor, noise. See charm%, and 
cf. chirk 1 , chirp 1 , and chirr.'} I. intrans. 1. To 
chirp as a bird. 
The bird chirms as it is whistled to. 
Wodroephe, Kr. and Eng. Grammar (1623), p. 605. 
Now listening to the chinning of the birds. 
W. W. Story, He and She, p. 1. 
2. To emit a mournful sound, as birds collected 
together before a storm. 
II. trans. To utter as with a chirp, 
chirm (cherm), n. [Also charm, formerly writ- 
ten cherm, charm, < ME. chirm, chyrm, < AS. 
cirm, cyrm, clamor, noise: see the verb.] If. 
Clamor; confused noise. 
The churnw of a thousand taunts and reproaches. 
Bacon, Hen. VII., p. 186. 
2. Specifically, the mournful sound emitted be- 
fore a storm by birds collected together. 
chiro-, cheiro-. [L., NL., etc., chiro-, before a 
vowel chir-, NL. sometimes less prop, cheiro-, < 
Gr. x e 'P-> before a vowel x el P-, combining form 
of x e 'P = OL. hir, the hand.] An element in 
some words of Greek origin, meaning ' hand,' 
'the hand.' 
Chirocentri (kl-ro-sen'tri), n. pi. [NL., pi. of 
Chirocentrus."] A group of malacopterygian 
fishes: same as Chirocentridce. 
chirocentrid (ki-ro-sen'trid), . A fish of the 
family Chirocen tridte. 
Chirqcentridae (ki-ro-sen'tri-de), n. pi. [NL., 
< Chirocentrus + -ida-."] A family of malacop- 
terygiau fishes, typified by the genus Chirocen- 
trus. The body is covered with thin deciduous scales ; 
the margin of the upper jaw is formed by the intermaxil- 
laries mesially, and by the maxillaries laterally (both 
bones beinjj: firmly united by juxtaposition) ; the opercular 
apparatus is complete ; the dorsal fin belongs to the can* 
dal portion of the vertebral column ; the intestine is short, 
the mucous membrane forming a spiral fold ; and there 
are no pyloric appendages. Also Chirocentri. 
Chirocentrodon (ki-ro-sen'tro-don), n. [NL.] 
A genus of fishes founded by Giintner in 1868. 
chirocentroid (ki-ro-sen'troid), a. and n. [< 
Chirocentrus + -oirf.] I. a. Pertaining to or 
resembling the Chirocentridte. 
II. n. A chirocentrid. 
Chirocentroidei (ki-ro-sen-troi'de-i), *. pi. 
[NL. (Bleeker, 1859), < Chirocentrus + -oidei.] 
In Bleeker's system, a family of the herring or- 
der, associated with two others in a tribe called 
Pseudoclupeini : same as Chirocentridw. 
Chirocentrus (ki-ro-sen'trus), . [NL., < Gr. 
Xetp, hand, + nevrpov, spine, center.] A genus 
of fishes, typical of the family Chirocentrtdw. 
It is so named from a lanceolate process of the pectoral 
fin. C. dorab, the only species known, is a large her- 
