▪ I. charnel, n.1 (and a.1)
(ˈtʃɑːnəl)
[a. OF. charnel, carnel in same sense:—late L. carnāle ‘flæschus’ (flesh-house) (ælfric's Gloss.), = carnārium, whence OF. charner, charnier.]
1. † a. A burial-place, cemetery (obs.). b. A mortuary chapel, a charnel house.
| 1377 Langl. P. Pl. B. vi. 50 For in charnel atte chirche cherles ben yuel to knowe, Or a kniȝte fram a knaue þere. 1426 E.E. Wills (1882) 75 Sir Iohn, preest of þe charnell. 1434 Ibid. 96 My body to be beryed anenest the charnell of Poules in Poules chircheyard. 1526 Pilgr. Perf. (W. de W. 1531) 303 b, The commune charnell of the Cite. 1598 Stow Surv. xxxiii. (1603) 295 The carriage of those bones from the charnell. 1644 Evelyn Mem. (1857) I. 69 The vast charnels of bones, tombs, pyramids, and sepulchres, took up much of my time. 1683 Phil. Trans. XIII. 394 Supposed to be the Charnal of the Antonine family. 1766 Entick London IV. 199 Facing this [Paul's] cross stood the charnel, in which the bones of the dead were..piled together. 1868 Milman St. Paul's 156 A chapel..called the Charnel, from whence..were removed cartloads of human bones. |
† 2. A skeleton.
Obs. rare—1.
| 1562 Leigh Armorie 199 The monks whereof had caused to be curiously painted, the charnel of a man, which they termed—Death. |
3. attrib. and
Comb. in sense:
a. ‘of or pertaining to a charnel’, as
charnel-chapel,
charnel-priest,
charnel-stool,
charnel-vault,
charnel-yard; also
charnel air,
charnel breath,
charnel meteor;
b. ‘that is or serves as a charnel’, as
charnel-house,
charnel-cell,
charnel-dungeon,
charnel-ocean;
c. ‘savouring or characteristic of a charnel’, as
charnel-book: some of which pass into true adjective uses as in B.
| 1813 Moore Lalla R. (1824) 148 As dies the lamp In *charnel airs, or cavern-damp. |
| 1647 Ward Simp. Cobler 76 Some are raking in old musty *charnell-books, for old mouldy monosyllables. |
| 1847 Emerson Repr. Men iii. Wks. (Bohn) I. 334 A *charnel-breath so mingles with the temple incense, that boys..will shun the spot. |
| 1814 Scott Ld. of Isles iii. xxxii, Ere they left that *charnell-cell. |
| 1538 Leland Itin. II. 42 At the West end of the Area..is a *Charnel Chapelle. |
| 1768 Beattie Minstr. i. xxxii, Ghosts that to the *charnel-dungeon throng. |
| 1815 Moore Lalla R., Fire-worsh. i. (1850) 163 Lights, like *charnel meteors, burn'd Bluely. |
| 1655 Fuller Waltham Ab. (1840) 269 [The charge of an obit] to the *charnel-priest, three pence. |
| 1451 in Rogers Agric. & Prices III. 554, 2 *charnel stools in chancel. |
| 1634 Milton Comus 471 Those thick and gloomy shadows damp Oft seen in *charnel-vaults and sepulchres. |
| 1749 Fielding Tom Jones Wks. 1775 II. 131 The half-drunk clown, as he staggers through the church⁓yard or rather *charnel-yard, to his home. |
B. adj. Of, pertaining to, or fit for a charnel, or the remains there preserved; sepulchral; deathlike, ghastly. (Not distinctly separable from
prec., the use of the hyphen being unsettled.)
| 1824 Galt Rothelan III. 193 Something wildly charnel and characteristic of the tomb. 1845 Hirst Poems 51 Charnel figures..hurried by. 1850 Mrs. Browning Drama of Exile, Shall split the charnel earth. 1871 G. Macdonald Wks. Fancy & Imag. II. 147 In every charnel breast Dead conscience rises slow. |
▪ II. † charnel, n.2 Obs. (
ˈtʃɑːnəl)
Also 5
charnaill,
-ale, 6
-elle, 6–7
-ell,
-aylle,
chernell, 8
charnal.
[a. OF. charnel, prob.:—L. cardināle, neut. of cardināl-is of or pertaining to a hinge (cardo, cardin-); cf. It. cardinale, and Sp. charnela hinge.] A hinge.
| c 1470 Henry Wallace vii. 1153 On charnaill bandis na[i]ld it full fast and sone. 1488 in Ld. Treas. Acc. Scotl. I. 84 Item a ring with a paddok stane with a charnale. 1511 MS. Acc. St. John's Hosp., Canterb., For ij charnellis and ij barys for þ⊇ ovyn ys mowth. 1531 Ibid., For ij new paire of charnellis for the pewys in the Church. 1570 B. Googe Pop. Kingd. i. (1880) 7 Charnels that are fixed fast, and beare the doore in frame. 1741 Monro Anat. (ed. 3) 43 The Hinge of a Door or Window..Tradesmen call it Charnal. |
b. The hinge of a helmet, on which the beaver and visor moved.
| 1430 Lydg. Chron. Troy iii. xxii, Fyrst they haue hewen and to broke The mighty charnelle of his bassenet And whan his vyser after was of smet..his face naked was and bare. 1510 Justes at Westmtr. in Meyrick Anc. Armour II. 252 Item who breaketh his spere above the charnell to be allowed ii speres well broken. 1548 Hall Chron. 12 Hen. VIII (1809) 612 The Charnell of his Hedde pece..was broken. 1577 Harrison England ii. v. (1877) i. 120 His helme..from the charnell vpwards ought to be of three inches at the least. [1830 James Darnley x. 48/2 Broke his spear twice on the very charnel of his helmet.] |
▪ III. † ˈcharnel, a.2 Obs. [a. F. charnel:—L. carnāl-is fleshly (Tertullian), f. carn-em flesh. A doublet of carnal.] = carnal, non-spiritual.
| 1483 Caxton Gold. Leg. 269/4, I desyre no thynges terreyn ne charnel. |
▪ IV. † ˈcharnel, v. Obs. [f. charnel n.2] To hinge. Hence
ˈcharneld, hinged, jointed.
| 1548 Hall Chron. (1809) 674 The Duke strake the Kyng on the brow right under the defence of y⊇ hed pece on the verye Coyffe, Scull, or bassenet pece, whereunto the Barbet for power and defence is Charneld, to which coyffe or bassenet never armourer taketh hede for it is evermore covered with the Viser Barbet and Volant pece. |