▪ I. charge, n.
(tʃɑːdʒ)
Also 4 charg, chaarge, 6 chardge, Sc. chairge.
[a. F. charge fem.:—Romanic carga, late L. carrica (cf. It. carica, Sp. carga), f. the vb. carricāre, cargar: see charge v., and cf. cark, charche n.]
I. A material load; that which can be borne, taken, or received.
† 1. A (material) load, burden, weight. Obs.
| a 1225 Ancr. R. 140 He was bute charge—& teide uor þui ane clot of heui eorðe to hire. 1297 R. Glouc. (1724) 416 So heuy charge of wayn. c 1330 R. Brunne Chron. (1810) 169 So mykelle was þat barge..& so heuy of charge. 1382 Wyclif 2 Kings viii. 9 Fourty chamel chaargis [1388 the burthuns of fourti camels]. c 1400 Rom. Rose 1352 Of fruyt hadde every tree his charge. 1509 Hawes Past. Pleas. xix. xxii, The shyp was great, fyve c. tonne to charge. 1638 Heywood Wise Wom. ii. i. Wks. 1874 V. 300 Having a charge of money about me. 1677 Moxon Mech. Exerc. (1703) 257 This charge, or weight, will be stopped, or stayed by the Inverse Arches. 1704 J. Harris Lex. Techn. s.v. Charge, An unweildy Ship..is a Ship of Charge. |
¶ ‘charge of lead.’
This is merely a mistake of Bailey's for Charre of Lead, used in Scotland in 14th c., explained by Cowel in his Interpreter, whence it passed into succeeding Law Dicts., and into Kersey 1708–21. See char n.2 2. Bailey's error is duly perpetuated in modern Dictionaries, as if charge of lead were a current expression.
| 1721 Bailey, A charge of Lead is 36 Pigs, each containing six Stone wanting two Pound. |
2. The action of loading a vessel, etc. ? Obs.
| 1540 Act 32 Hen. VIII, c. 14 Any hauen, porte or rode of charge or discharge. |
3. a. The quantity of powder, or (more loosely, with sportsmen, etc.) of powder and shot, with which a fire-arm is loaded for one discharge. See bursting charge, vbl. n. 6.
| 1653 H. Cogan tr. Pinto's Trav. xli. §2. 162 Artillery, or Cannons of wood..behind the which they put boxes of iron, that held their charge. 1669 Sturmy Mariners Mag. ii. v. xi. §1. 46 To tell readily how much Powder is a due Charge for any Piece. 1846 Greener Sc. Gunnery 327 One half of the musket charge will escape past the ball during its passage up the barrel. 1857 Livingstone Trav. xviii. 331 A single charge of gunpowder. 1863 Bates Nat. Amazon II. 57 After watching the animal for about half an hour I gave him a charge of shot. |
b. So Mining. A quantity of gunpowder or other explosive used in blasting.
c. slang. A dose or injection of a drug; marijuana, esp. a marijuana cigarette. orig. U.S.
| 1929 C. G. Givens in Sat. Even. Post 13 Apr. 54/4 An addict..is a bangster, and a bang is a load, a charge or a hyp of the drug he uses. 1957 C. MacInnes City of Spades i. v. 21 ‘I saw you grew charge out there...’ ‘You want to smoke some?’ 1958 F. Norman Bang to Rights 174 Quite a lot of spooks get done for takeing charge. 1959 Streetwalker iv. 68 Relaxing under the influence of charge, marijhuana. 1969 Melody Maker 13 Sept. 6 Club promoters are worried that hippies could close them down by smoking charge on the premises. |
d. U.S. slang. A thrill; a feeling of excitement or satisfaction; a ‘kick’; esp. in phr. to get a charge out of.
| 1951 S. J. Perelman in New Yorker 3 Mar. 28/3 What kind of an old creep'd get a charge out of this stuff? 1959 W. Brown Cry Kill x. 108 He was getting a charge out of being close to something big. 1963 N.Y. Times Mag. 5 May 117 (Advt.), It seems to me that people get a bigger charge out of their grandchildren than they did from their own offspring. |
4. gen. The quantity of anything which a receptacle, a piece of mechanism, etc. is fitted or constructed to bear, take in, or receive; e.g. the quantity of coal which a gas-retort takes in, the quantity of ore, etc. put into a furnace at one heat, etc., etc.
| 1672 Newton in Phil. Trans. VII. 5097 By that means the Microscope will..bear a deeper Charge. 1712–4 Pope Rape Lock v. 82 A charge of snuff the wily virgin threw. 1832 G. Porter Porcelain & Gl. 165 The opening through which the charge was introduced. 1858–75 Ure Dict. Arts III. 55 The charge [of lead-ore] employed varies in almost every establishment. In the North smaller charges are used than in most other localities. At Newcastle, the charge varies from 12 to 14 cwts...in Cornwall, charges of 30 cwt. are not unfrequently worked. 1881 Raymond Mining Gloss., Charge, the materials introduced at one time or one round into a furnace. |
5. Electr. An accumulation of electricity in a Leyden jar, electric battery, etc., which may be again discharged. Also used of the electrical property of particles of matter.
| 1767 J. Priestley Hist. Electr. 527 A full charge of two or three thousand square feet of coated glass would give a shock as great as a single common flash of lightning. 1782 Brook in Phil. Trans. LXXII. 387 No glass to be charged, as we call it, with electricity, will bear a greater charge than, etc. 1885 Watson & Burbury Math. Th. Electr. I. 89 The algebraic sum of all the electricity on the surface of a conductor is called the charge on the conductor. 1891 [see electron2]. 1927 Sidgwick Electronic Theory of Valency 11 The charge on the nucleus—the atomic number—determines the number of electrons which surround it. 1955 W. Pauli N. Bohr 32 The charge-density for spin ½-particles is positive-definite in the c-number theory. Ibid., The postulate of charge-symmetry. 1956 G. Thomson The Atom (ed. 5) i. 6 A proton has the same kind of charge as a positively charged body. |
| fig. 1858 J. Martineau Stud. Chr. 269 [They will] accumulate fresh charges of threatening power in the intellectual atmosphere which surrounds the church. |
6. Her. Any device ‘charged’ or borne upon an escutcheon; a bearing.
| 1599 Thynne Animadv. (1875) 15 Chaucers armes are not so meane, eyther for coolour, chardge, or particione as some will make them. 1610 J. Guillim Heraldry ii. iii. (1660) 52 A Charge is that thing whatsoever that doth occupy the field. 1642 Fuller Holy & Prof. St. i. xv. 47 This to my Elder Brother I must yield, I have the Charge, but he hath all the Field. 1876 Rock Text. Fabr. vi. 56 To introduce many heraldic charges. |
7. Farriery. A thick adhesive plaster applied to the body of a horse.
| 1607 Topsell Four-f. Beasts 287 Then lay on this charge following. 1708 Lond. Gaz. No. 4495/4 He had, when lost, a hot charge laid on with Deer's Hair on every Leg. 1831–72 Youatt Horse xvii. 382 A charge, or very strong adhesive plaster, across the haunch may be useful. Ibid. xxiii. 483 The following mixture makes a good charge. |
II. A load of trouble, expense, responsibility, blame, etc.
* of trouble.
8. fig. a. A burden, load, weight (of trouble, inconvenience, etc.). Obs. b. concr. Anything burdensome; a source of trouble or inconvenience.
| c 1300 K. Alis. 7292 He n'ul that youre barouns..No beore charge of all this. 1382 Wyclif Matt. xx. 12 To vs, that han born the charge of the day and hete. 1483 Caxton G. de la Tour H ij b, Which shalle be in grete charge and payne to gyue a good ansuere. 1509 Barclay Shyp of Folys (1874) I. 131 Folewe vertue and leue charges mundayne. 1713 Guardian No. 1 ¶4 The charge of intelligence, the pain in compiling. 1850 Thackeray Pendennis xxxi, Thank God..I need not be a charge on the old mother. |
** of importance.
† 9. fig. a. Moral weight, importance, moment. Obs.
| c 1385 Chaucer L.G.W. 620 Thyng that beryth more effect & charge. c 1400 Mandeville xxii. 243 Thus anon hathe he hasty tydynges of ony thing, that berethe charge. 1485 Caxton Chas. Gt. 28 Occupyed in maters of charge and weyghty. 1598 Shakes. Rom. & Jul. v. ii. 18 The Letter was not nice, but full of charge, Of deare import. |
† b. In such phrases as it is no charge, it is of no importance, it does not matter; to make, give, have no charge, to make of no account, not to care (const. of or with clause). (Cf. charge v. 20.)
| c 1340 Gaw. & Gr. Knt. 1940 Of þe chepe no charg. 1382 Wyclif Matt. xxii. 16 There is no cure, or charge, to thee of eny man [1388 thou chargist not of ony man]. c 1386 Chaucer Sqr.'s T. 359 Dreem of which ther nys no charge. c 1420 Pallad. on Husb. i. 744 For hay..Make housyng as the list; it is noo charge [non refert]. c 1440 Hylton Scala Perf. (W. de W. 1494) vi, He..makith noo charge what comyth of hymself. 1481 Caxton Myrr. i. iv. 13 They retched not ne had no charge of suche goodis. |
*** Pecuniary.
10. a. Pecuniary burden; expense, cost. arch.
| c 1460 Fortescue Abs. & Lim. Mon. vi. (heading), Ordynaunces for the Kyngs Ordenarye Chargys. c 1510 More De quat. Noviss. Wks. 90 Thou hast lytle money & much charge. 1600 Hakluyt Voy. (1810) III. 157 The Globe which M. Sanderson to his very great charge hath published. 1653 Walton Angler iii. 79 'Tis the company and not the charge that makes the feast. 1669 Worlidge Syst. Agric. (1681) 265 January..is the rich mans charge, and the poor mans misery. 1727 A. Hamilton New Acc. E. Ind. II. xlii. 114 The Profits can hardly bear the Charge. 1791 Smeaton Edystone L. §118 When the..certain charge of the Out-fit was duly taken into consideration. 1842 Macaulay Fredk. Gt., Ess. (1854) II. 673/1 The whole charge of his kitchen was brought within the sum of two thousand pounds sterling a year. 1848 ― Hist. Eng. I. 593 A small body guard of forty young men, well armed and mounted at their own charge, attended Monmouth. |
b. The price required or demanded for service rendered, or (less usually) for goods supplied.
| 1817 S. R. Brown Western Gaz. 90 The taverns are well kept, and charges reasonable. 1848 Macaulay Hist. Eng. I. 388 The charge for conveying a single letter was twopence for eighty miles, and threepence for a longer distance. 1853 Lytton My Novel x. xx, His charges, too, are moderate. 1875 Jevons Money (1878) 117 The bank is always willing to do the work for fixed low charges. Mod. What is the charge for admittance? He declined to make a charge, but left it to us to pay what we thought proper. |
c. pl. Expenses: often with sense scarcely or not at all distinguishable from the sing. arch.
| 1514 in Eng. Gilds (1870) 145 Atte custages and charges of the seid Maister and brethern of the seid Gilde. 1593 Shakes. 2 Hen. VI, i. i. 61 Sent ouer of the King of Englands owne proper Cost and Charges. 1653 Walton Angler ii. 44 I'll bear your charges this night, and you shall beare mine to morrow. 1662 Gerbier Princ. 25 Builders ought to calculate the Charges of their designed Building. 1734 tr. Rollin's Anc. Hist. (1827) VII. xvi. 12 To defray the charges of his funeral. 1783 Bailey, Cadet, Cadee, one that serves as a volunteer in the wars upon his own charges. 1845 Thackeray Cornhill to Cairo ii, A..cathedral, built by the present bishop at his own charges. |
d. Commerce. Expenses incidental upon business or commercial operations, especially such as do not come under other particular headings of the Profit and Loss Account.
| 1546 Johnson in Ellis Orig. Lett. ii. 143 II. 174, I have allowed for freight and charges of the same thiether. 1875 Jevons Money (1878) 17 Tolls, fees, and tariffs of charges. Mod. An analysis of the General Charges Account. |
† e. to be at charge or at charges: to undergo (great) expense; to bear the expense or cost. So also, to be at the charge(s of. Obs.
| 1542 Brinklow Compl. vii. (1874) 20 Nexte terme he must be at charge to come vp. 1594 Shakes. Rich. III, i. ii. 256 Ile be at Charges for a Looking-glasse. 1655–60 Stanley Hist. Philos. (1701) 110/2 These live sparingly, Are never at the charges of a Barber, Unguents, or Baths. 1714 Steele Lover i. (1723) 7 As I am a young Author..he would not be at that Charge. 1745 P. Thomas Jrnl. Anson's Voy. 212 That the Court should be at great Charges for this Pomp. |
11. A liability to pay money laid upon a person or estate.
| c 1570 Thynne Pride & Lowl. (1841) 20 To setten downe a bill of charge. 1641 Termes de la Ley 54 Charge is where a Man granteth a Rent issuing out of his ground..this is called a Rent-charge. 1788 J. Powell Devises (1827) II. 51 They do not furnish a single case of such a charge failing in event by the death of the devisee in the devisor's life time. 1845 M{supc}Culloch Taxation i. iv. (1852) 109 Whether the same proportional charge should be made on incomes of 100l. or 500l. a year, as on those of 1000l. or 5000l.? Ibid. ii. vii. 318 A mere charge by one government department against others. 1858 Ld. St. Leonards Handy Bk. Prop. Law xxiv. 184 Limitation has..been put upon proceedings to recover charges on the estate. 1885 Act 48 & 49 Vict. c. 54 §11 Any mortgage or charge duly created..upon the profits of any benefice. |
**** Responsibility, care.
12. A task or duty laid upon one; commission, trust, responsibility; an office entrusted to one.
| c 1340 Cursor M. 20790 (Fairf.) He wille take na charge on him. 1393 Gower Conf. II. 393. 1475 Caxton Jason 28 Jason thenne began to thenke on the grete honour and charge that he hadde receyued. 1597 Hooker Eccl. Pol. v. lxxviii. §2 Whose mere function or charge is the service of God. 1648 Milton Tenure Kings (1650) 45 Pastors have a dreadfull charge, not performed by a formal preachment twise a week. 1754 Chatham Lett. Nephew iii. 14 Your tutor..I dare say he is every way equal to such a charge. 1810 T. Jefferson Writ. (1830) IV. 151 It is incumbent on those who accept great charges, to risk themselves on great occasions. 1885 Manch. Exam. 10 Jan. 5/2 He is now obliged by ill-health to seek a less burdensome charge, and the living becomes vacant. [Cf. 14.] |
13. a. The duty or responsibility of taking care of (a person or thing); care, custody, superintendence. Phrase, to have, take, give (the) charge of. Also, to take charge: colloq. (of a thing) to get out of control and act automatically, esp. with disastrous or destructive effect.
| 1389 in Eng. Gilds (1870) 5 He shal take þ⊇ charge al sone as he is warned þerof. c 1400 Destr. Troy 8952 A cheftan with charge of hom all. 1483 Cath. Angl. 59 A charge, cura. 1535 Coverdale Ps. xc[i]. 11 He shall geue his angels charge ouer the. 1611 Bible Acts viii. 27 An Eunuch..who had the charge of all her treasure. ― 1 Macc. xiv. 42 He should take charge of the Sanctuarie. 1727 Swift What passed in Lond. Wks. 1755 III. i. 187 If the reverend Clergy showed more concern..I charitably impute it to their great charge of souls. 1841 Macaulay W. Hastings, Ess. (1854) II. 597/1 His uncle..determined to take charge of him. 1850 Thackeray Pendennis lxvi, Under the charge of her kind..patroness. 1890 Daily News 16 June 3/8 A seven-inch steel breech-loading gun ‘took charge’ in firing, and both gun and carriage were blown off the platform. 1897 Ibid. 23 Feb. 7/6 A large party of men were pulling the tackle, when suddenly the spar ‘took charge’, and swung back. |
b. in charge (of) is used both actively and passively; e.g. to leave children in charge of a nurse, or a nurse in charge of the children. The latter is the more recent use; thence officer, clerk, curate in charge, i.e. having actually the charge or care (of a place, business, etc.), ‘on duty’. to give (an object) in charge (to a person): (a) to commit (it) to his care, entrust him with it; (b) to give an order or command, to charge (see sense 15, and charge v. 14). to give (a person) in charge: to hand over to the custody of the police. So to have, take in charge.
| 1513 More Rich. III (1641) 276 Forgetting nothing given to him in charge. 1590 Shakes. Com. Err. i. ii. 70 Where is the gold I gaue in charge to thee? 1665 Manley Grotius' Low-C. Warrs 349 The Earl of Bulloin having in charge matters of greater concernment. 1784 Cowper Task ii. 478 The weighty terms, That he had taken in charge. 1793 T. Jefferson Writ. (1859) IV. 51, I have it in charge from the President to assure the merchants..that, etc. 1835 Marryat Jac. Faithf. i, I was now left almost altogether in charge of the deck. 1848 Macaulay Hist. Eng. I. 440 note, The Dutch Archives..are in the charge of gentlemen whose courtesy..cannot be too highly praised. 1858 Hawthorne Fr. & It. Jrnls. (1872) I. 78 Having the education of young girls in charge. 1861 F. Nightingale Nursing iv. 33 No one seemed to know what it is to be ‘in charge’, or who was in charge. 1885 Manch. Exam. 23 May 5/4 Mr. Shaw-Lefevre..was left..in full charge of the House. 1885 Sir C. Butt in Law Rep., Probate, 101 The European..was in charge of a duly licensed pilot. 1887 Newspr. The thief was promptly arrested and given in charge. |
14. a. A thing or person entrusted to the care or management of any one. spec. The people or district committed to the care of a minister of religion.
| 1530 Palsgr. 157 Vne c{uacu}re, a cure, a parsonage, or a charge. 1590 Nashe Pasquil's Apol. 12, I wyll not be theyr vpholder which lye sleeping and snorting in their charges. 1602 Warner Alb. Eng. xii. lxxiii. (1612) 300 When Stafford and his double charge to Italie were come. 1606 Shakes. Tr. & Cr. v. ii. 6 Dio. How now my charge? Cres. Now my sweet gardian. 1634 Sir T. Herbert Trav. 220 Woe be to that Priest..That will not..preach his Charge among. 1741 Richardson Pamela (1824) I. 69 He hoped her fair charge was well. 1860 Dickens Uncomm. Trav. x. (1866) 70 [The dog] has driven his charge away. 1872 E. Peacock Mabel Heron I. iv. 58 The Vicar..resided on the latter charge. 1873 Burton Hist. Scot. V. liv. 76 Instructions that the clergy should reside within their charges. |
† b. Term for a ‘company’ of clergy having the cure of souls. Obs.
| 1486 Bk. St. Albans F vij a, A Dignyte of chanonys, a Charge of curatis. |
***** Mandate, admonition.
15. a. A precept, injunction, mandate, order.
| 138. Wyclif Last Age Ch. (1840) 24 The chargis of profetis tretynge þis matir. 1393 Gower Conf. I. 193 He..yaf him charge, That they ne suffre..His wife to go. 1535 Coverdale Eccles. viii. 2 When a kynge geueth a charge, his commaundement is mightie. 1611 Bible 2 Sam. xviii. 5 The king gaue all the captaines charge concerning Absalom. 1693 W. Robertson Phraseol. Gen. 324 A charge or commandment. 1702 Pope Sapho 119 No charge I gave you, and no charge could give, But this, be mindful of our loves, and live. 1726 Gay Fables i. xlviii. 36. 1839 J. Yeowell Anc. Brit. Ch. ii. (1847) 11 His parting charge. |
b. spec. An official instruction or admonition given by a judge to a jury, by a bishop or archdeacon to his clergy, or by a member of a presbytery or senior minister to a young minister at his ordination.
| 1690 Bp. of Worc.'s Charge 11 Sept. 1 The Charge was given by the Bishop himself. 1791 Boswell Johnson (1816) II. 245 Johnson..with humourous formality gave me a Charge, pointing out the conduct expected from me. 1864 Daily News 26 Mar., Irving's ‘charge’ to the young minister at London-wall is something almost terrible to read. 1881 Bp. Wordsworth in Public Opinion No. 1044. 395 The main portion of my charge..delivered at our annual synod in Perth. 1888 Falkirk Mail 1 Sep. 3/5 Mr. Reid..ascended the pulpit and delivered the charge to the pastor and the congregation. Mod. In his charge to the jury, the Lord Chief Justice said, etc. |
c. Sc. Law. The command of the sovereign's letters to perform some act, e.g. to enter an heir. Also, the messenger's copy of service, requiring the person to obey this command, or generally to fulfil the decrees of a court of law. d. Sc. Law. An item which an intromittor receives and holds for the benefit of a beneficiary; the total of such items.
| 1474 Accts. Ld. Treasurer Scotl. 1 Dec. (1877) I. 2 Sum totale of all the charge before writtin. 1554 in Extracts Rec. Burgh Edin. (1927) II. 280 The charge and discharge being seine, hard and understand. 1615 in Roberts & Macphail Dumbarton Common Good Accts. (1972) 1 Summa of the hail charges. 1849 Act 12 & 13 Vict. c. 51 §13 The accountant shall see that the factor's accounts of charge and discharge, with the vouchers thereof, are duly lodged. 1936 P. W. Chandler Trust Accounts 2 In Scotland..the accounts of private trusts are there kept by the solicitor who acts for trustees, and he annually or periodically puts the account current into the form of an ‘Account Charge and Discharge’. |
****** Accusation.
16. a. Attribution or imputation of something culpable; accusation.
| 1477 Norton Ord. Alch. iii. in Ashm. 43, I pray God that this turne not me to Charge. 1483 Caxton G. de la Tour D vij b, Puttyng the charge of the dede upon other. 1577 Patericke Gontillet's Agst. Machiavel (1602) 318 The gentleman..gave charge upon those which had taken away his betrothed wife. 1625 Bacon Truth, Ess. (Arb.) 501 Such a Disgrace, and such an Odious Charge. 1713 Steele Englishman No. 50. 324 He cannot prove these heavy Charges of Disloyalty. 1777 Priestley Matter & Spir. (1782) I. Pref. 34 The writer..has well defended my hypothesis from the charge of infidelity. 1867 Mrs. Oliphant Madonna M. iii, That such a charge was hanging over her head. 1880 M{supc}Carthy Own Times IV. 418 He made the most startling and..the most sweeping charges. |
b. Phr. to lay to one's charge: to impute to one as a fault, charge one with, charge upon one.
| 1535 Coverdale Ps. xxxiv. [xxxv.] 11 False witnesses..laye to my charge thinges that I knowe not. 1605 Shakes. Lear i. ii. 139 To lay his Goatish disposition on the charge of a Starre. 1796 Jane Austen Pride & Prej. ii. (1813) 172 Two offences..you last night laid to my charge. 1872 E. Peacock Mabel Heron I. v. 75 Not having anything very serious to lay to the charge of the man himself. |
c. spec. The accusation upon which a prisoner is brought up for trial; hence, in the slang of the police: A prisoner charged with an offence and brought up for trial.
| 1859 Sala Tw. round Clock (1861) 422 One by one the ‘charges’ were brought in..and set before him in that little iron-railed dock. Some were felonious charges: scowling, beetle-browed, under-hung charges, who had been there many times before, and were likely to come there many times again. |
d. to put (someone) on a charge (also charge-sheet), to charge with a specified offence, esp. under military law.
| 1960 M. Spark Bachelors x. 173 Patrick trembles with fear and relief when he thinks of Mr. Fergusson who first put him on a charge. 1968 S. L. Elliott Rusty Bugles in E. Hanger Three Austral. Plays ii. iv. 95 That does it. He puts Vic on a charge sheet. |
III. An impetuous attack (and allied senses).
† 17. The position of a weapon ready for action. Cf. charge v. 21. Obs.
| 1597 Shakes. 2 Hen. IV, iv. i. 120 Their armed Staues in charge, their Beauers downe. 1635 W. Barriffe Mil. Discip. ii. (1643) 10 The Charges of the Pike are twofold, either for Defence, or Offence. 1650 R. Elton Art. Milit. i. v. (1668) 5. |
18. a. Mil. An impetuous attack or onset; the act of bearing down impetuously upon the opposing force (see quot. 1832). Also said of the rush of a powerful animal, as a bull, an elephant, of a player at football, etc.
| 1568 Grafton Chron. II. 275 It chaunced certeine French men and Almaynes to geve such a charge and onset of the English hoste, that perforce they opened the Archers of the Princes battaile. 1579 Digges Stratiot. 152 To abide a charge. 1611 Bible 2 Macc. xi. 11 Giuing a charge vpon their enemies like lions. 1663 Butler Hud. i. ii. 158 Of Knowledge great Either for Charge or for Retreat. 1776 Gibbon Decl. & F. I. xix. 531 The two armies rushed with equal fury to the charge. 1832 Regul. Instr. Cavalry iii. 63 The Charge is that attack made with the greatest velocity and regularity possible, to break the order of the opposite enemy. 1855 Prescott Philip II, i. viii. (1857) 137 Egmont returned to the charge, but was forced back with greater loss than before. 1855 Tennyson (title) Charge of the Light Brigade. 1857 Hughes Tom Brown v, The ‘Bravos’ of the School-house attest the pluckiest charge of all that hard-fought day. 1887 Spectator 16 Apr. 532/1 Reform meetings were dispersed by charges of Dragoons. |
b. fig.; esp. in phr. to return to the charge.
| 1752 Johnson Rambl. No. 194 ¶11 He returns every day to the charge with increase of courage. 1844 Dickens Mart. Chuz. (Hoppe) Nor, although he returned to the charge very often, could he obtain any useful intelligence. |
19. Mil. A signal for the attack sounded on a trumpet or other instrument. (Also fig.)
| 1650 R. Elton Art Milit. iii. xxiii. (1668) The several beats of the Drum; as first, of a Call; second, a Troop;..a March;..a Preparative;..a Battle or Charge;..a Retreat. 1682 Otway Venice Pres. i. i, Beats not my heart as't would alarum thine [heart] To a new charge of bliss? 1690 W. Walker Idiomat. Anglo-Lat. 92 The trumpets on both sides sound the charge. 1828 Scott F. M. Perth xxxiv, The pipers on both sides blew their charge. 1854 J. S. C. Abbott Napoleon (1855) I. xix. 311 The..proclamation rang like a trumpet charge over the hills and valleys of France. |
20. Comb., as charge-bearer, charge-bearing; charge account N. Amer., a credit account at a store, etc.; charge-book, a book containing the statements of the charges brought against prisoners in a police court; charge card orig. U.S., (a) a card (card n.2 6 h) authorizing the holder to draw on a charge account; (b) a similar card issued by an organization, which allows the holder to purchase items on credit from a range of stores, etc., so long as the full account is settled when a statement is presented (usu. monthly); sometimes contrasted with credit card s.v. credit n. 14; charge engineer, the engineer in charge of the engines and machinery at a power station, etc.; charge-hand, a workman, in various trades, who is in charge of a particular piece of work; charge-house, (a) a building in which prisoners are detained on a certain charge; (b) a workshop in which explosive is loaded into shells, etc., in an explosive factory, also attrib.; charge-inspector, an officer who inspects the charges entered in a charge-sheet; charge-man, the leader of a working squad; also, a workman who controls the supply of materials to a furnace, machine, etc. in a workshop or factory; charge-nurse, a nurse who has charge of a ward in an infirmary or hospital; charge-room, the room, at a police-station, in which the charge against an arrested person is made and entered in the charge book or sheet; charge-sheet, the paper kept at a police-station on which are duly entered the names of persons brought in custody to the station, with the charge against them, etc.; charge-ways adv. (see 7), in the manner of a ‘charge’ or horse-plaister.
| 1903 Red Book July (Advt. Section) 6/1 No security is required..when you buy on our confidential *charge account system. 1909 ‘O. Henry’ Options (1916) 96 I've got more power here than..a charge of dynamite, and a charge account at Tiffany's combined. 1962 J. Ludwig in R. Weaver Canad. Short Stories 2nd Ser. (1968) 256 Shirley sneaked ties to Maxie, money, let him put things on Jimmy's charge accounts. |
| 1605 Verstegan Dec. Intell., A German souldier was observed to kill in the field some captain or *charge-bearer among the Romans. |
| 1592 Dee Comp. Rehears. in Chetham Misc. (1851) I. 35, I have received..in money towards some of my *charges-bearing the som of, etc. |
| 1890 Daily News 18 Sept. 2/5 Sir Andrew Lusk made an entry in the *charge-book of the prisoner's death. |
| 1962 Good Housekeeping Sept. 164/3 In many cities, customers receive a *charge plate or card. 1964 Business Week 29 Feb. 44/3 The customer gets a new charge card, but the bills go to the former address for months afterward. 1976 Lieberman & Rhodes Compl. CB Handbk. x. 208 If you've ever registered for the draft, filled out a charge-card application..or written a letter, you can fill out a CB license application for a Class D operator's license. 1977 Time 19 Sept. 34/2 (Advt.), Book your rental to any major charge card. 1980 Daily Tel. 3 Jan. 15/3 American Express, which is not strictly a credit card but a charge card, is thought to hold 18 p.c. of the market. 1985 Investors Chron. 1-7 Nov. 71/1 March's introduction of a charge card turned a {pstlg}2.7m profit from financial activities into a {pstlg}2.2m loss. |
| 1907 Install. News Sept. 16/2 Young gentleman..desires engagement as *charge engineer of private plant. |
| 1916 ‘Boyd Cable’ Doing their Bit iv. 65 We, the managers, foremen, and *charge hands of the above factory. 1921 Dict. Occup. Terms (1927) §591 Painter's foreman..; charge hand; is in charge of painters on a job. Ibid. §691 Charge hand (electricity supply); a turbine or engine driver who is directly responsible to charge engineer for operation of turbine plant, [etc.]. 1922 Turner & Wood Man. Up-to-date Organisation 171 Charge hand is an operator having supervision of a section. 1957 Times 12 Oct. 6/1 A charge-hand process worker on the Windscale piles. 1961 Evening Standard 4 Sept. 19/4 Male Chargehand wanted to take charge of television component coil-winding sections. |
| 1900 Daily News 14 Aug. 5/4 Three hundred and eighty suspected persons found themselves lodged in the fort. Another four hundred and fifty..in the *charge-house. 1921 Dict. Occup. Terms (1927) §149 Charge house man (gunpowder),..wheels bogies (small trucks) of raw materials..between stores and scattered workshops of explosive factory. |
| 1887 Pall Mall G. 28 July 3/1 The *charge-inspector, being trained as a criminal lawyer as well as a policeman. |
| 1885 Daily News 23 Oct. 6/3, I, as a *charge man, was the oldest at the particular hammer that I worked at. 1921 Dict. Occup. Terms (1927) §091 Charge man; (i) (patent fuel) is in charge of operations in manufacturing patent fuel; [etc.]; (ii) (salt works) is responsible for regulating supply of steam, brine, etc. Ibid. §279 Charge man (copper smelting)..; charges blast furnace, or cupola,..under direction of cupola furnace-man. |
| 1896 *Charge-nurse [see sister n. 3 d]. 1961 [see aisle 5]. |
| 1853 Dickens Reprinted Pieces (1899) 200 The old Thames Police office is now a station-house, and..the old Court..is a quaint *charge room. 1933 P. MacDonald Myst. Dead Police i. 3 The other four [men] were all in the Charge Room. |
| 1866 Harper's Mag. Jan. 161/2 The next witness who steps into the box is a *charge sheet in himself. 1887 Pall Mall G. 19 Aug. 9/1 It was the custom for the constable to give the information which appears in the charge-sheet. |
| c 1720 W. Gibson Farriers Disp. xvi. (1734) 304 Apply it *Charge-ways all over the part. |
Add: [I.] [5.] b. The process of charging a battery; on charge, in the state of undergoing this process.
| 1887 P. B. Elwell tr. Planté's Storage Electr. Energy ii. 46 Absorption of the gases during the charge of secondary cells. 1908 J. R. Barr Princ. Direct-Current Electr. Engin. v. 133 Variation of E.M.F. during charge and discharge. 1924 G. W. Vinal Storage Batteries vi. 233 The point at which gassing of a storage battery while on charge, begins is determined by the voltage. 1953 R. A. Harvey Battery Chargers & Charging xii. 311 The miner passes through the lamp room on finishing his shift and..puts the battery on charge himself. 1984 C. A. Vincent et al. Mod. Batteries 240 The current is high at the beginning of the charge, and falls off as the charging proceeds. |
▸ charge-coupled device n. Electronics a semiconductor device consisting of an array of coupled MOS capacitors which allow a charge to be transferred sequentially in a controlled manner, used chiefly in optical devices such as scanners and cameras in which an image is captured as a pattern of charges on the surface of the semiconductor and electronically shifted out of the device to form an image signal; abbreviated CCD.
| 1970 Abstr. Internat. Electron Devices Meeting (IEEE) 78 In order to determine the operating limits of *charge-coupled devices, a model that approximates the charge-coupled device with a traveling sine wave potential has been analyzed. 1982 Sci. Amer. Oct. 48/1 The tiny new television sensors called charge-coupled devices (CCD's) are providing a new view of the heavens. 2002 N.Y. Times Bk. Rev. 25 Aug. 7/1 Amateurs..can make long colorful exposures with charge-coupled devices (CCD's, the astronomical equivalent of the omnicompetent microchip). |
▪ II. charge, v.
(tʃɑːdʒ)
Forms: 3– charge; also 4 cherge, scharge, 5 charg, 6– Sc. chairge.
[a. OF. charge-r, -ier, 11th c. in Littré (= ONF. carguer, cargier, Pr. cargar, Sp., Pg. cargar, It. caricare):—L. carricāre (in Jerome) to load, f. carr-us car, wagon: cf. commūnicāre to share in common, caballicāre to ride, etc.
(Several forms resulted in Romanic from the L. type carricāre. When the original vb. in sense ‘load’ was syncopated at an early period to carcāre (cf. It. caricare, carcare), this gave OF. karkier, charchier (cf. L. caballus horse, caballicāre, cabalcāre to ride, F. chevaucher); thence ME. cark and charche. Otherwise, carricāre became carrigāre, and was then syncopated to cargare, OF. carguier, chargier, Eng. charge. After these changes had taken place, and the original verb had become Romanic carcare, cargare, a new carricare was formed in the sense ‘to convey in a car’, ‘to cart’, and this gave OF. careyer, carier, charier (cf. manus hand, manicāre to handle, F. manier); thence Eng. carry.)]
I. To load; to cause to bear, hold, or receive.
(To charge is, in sense, causal of to bear; hence in the passive charged with is equivalent to ‘bearing’, ‘taking’, or ‘receiving’ what it can bear or hold.)
† 1. a. trans. To place a load on or in; to load (e.g. a vehicle, ship, beast of burden, etc.). Also, in pass.; charged with: laden with, bearing. Obs. exc. as merged in other senses.
| 1297 R. Glouc. (1724) 13 Me chargede þre hondret schippes..Þer wyþ. a 1300 Cursor M. 8253 It was so cherged [v.r. charged, karkid, karked] ilk a bogh. c 1380 Sir Ferumb. 3136 Two & þyrty grete somers y-charged alle & some Wyþ fair flour. c 1386 Chaucer Merch. T. 967 A tre, That charged was with fruyt. c 1440 Promp. Parv. 69 Chargyn wythe byrdenys, onero. 1513 Douglas æneis xi. i. 114 Mak prayer and offerandis Chargeand the altaris oft with his awin hands. c 1534 tr. Pol. Verg. Eng. Hist. (1846) I. 57 Cæsar, charging his shippes with a great number of captives. 1634 Sir T. Herbert Trav. 191 Her head, armes, necke, nose, eares, legs and toes, each charged with Amulets and Bracelets of silver. 1712 tr. Pomet's Hist. Drugs I. 37 Branches, charg'd with Leaves. 1853 Arab. Nts. (Rtldg.) 633 Ten mules charged with large hampers. 1854 Abbott Napoleon (1855) II. xxxv. 655 The frigate charged with the mortal remains of Napoleon. |
† b. transf. To load with blows. Obs.
| 1596 Nashe Saffron Walden 33 All those..blowes wherewith you haue charged me. |
† 2. To lay or place (goods, etc.) as a load upon; to lade. Obs.
| c 1532 Ld. Berners Huon 423 All .iii...chargyd in theyr neckes mete ynowe & brought it to the shyp. 1539 Act 31 Hen. VIII, c. 4 There to charge and discharge the sayde goodes. 1601 Holland Pliny I. 133 They must charge and discharge their wares. |
| fig. 1665–9 Boyle Occas. Refl. ii. xv. To charge no more upon a Day than the trouble that belongs to it. |
† 3. To carry as a load or lading. Obs. rare.
| c 1450 Merlin 57 Merlin hem shewde the stones that were grete and longe..They..seide it was a thynge inpossible to charge, they were of soche gretnesse and wight. 1660 Burney κέρδ. Δῶρον (1661) 98 Fear not man..thou charges Cæsar and his Fortune. |
4. a. To put in or on (a thing) what it can bear or is adapted to receive; to cause to take or receive to the extent of its capacity or requirements; to furnish with its full complement; to fill (e.g. a vessel with liquor, etc.).
In some modern phrases probably transf. from 5.
| a 1225 Ancr. R. 204 Hit is iueððred [as an arrow]; þet is, icharged. 1577 J. Northbrooke Dicing (1843) 58 A distaffe charged with flaxe. 1674 Ray Iron Work 126 The Furnace which is before charged with coles. a 1763 Shenstone Wks. (1764) I. 286 The trembling tears that charge thy melting eyes. 1785 Cowper Task vi. 570 Creeping vermin..charged perhaps with venom. 1799 G. Smith Laborat. I. 9 When you charge your rocket. 1823 J. Badcock Dom. Amusem. 20 Charging the cylinders with dry split wood. 1855 Bain Senses & Int. ii. iv. §26 An organ with bellows constantly charged. 1878 Huxley Physiogr. 24 The water with which the rock is charged. 1884 Browning Ferishtah (ed. 3) 134 The slave who charged thy pipe. |
b. Construction transposed as in 2.
| 1882 Engineer 24 Feb. 133/1 These bars are cut to lengths and charged into a suitable furnace. |
5. spec. To put into (a fire-arm) the proper charge of powder and ball; to ‘load’.
| 1541 Act 33 Hen. VIII, c. 6 No person..shal cary..any crosse bowe bent, or gun charged or furnished with pouder fire or touch for the same. 1595 Shakes. John ii. i. 382 Their battering Canon charged to the mouthes. 1669 Sturmy Mariner's Mag. ii. v. xii. §45 When any Piece of Ordnance is Charged with such a Shot as will not be driven home unto the Powder. Ibid. ii. v. xiii. §4 How Granadoes are to be Charged in a Mortar, and Fired. 1670 Nye Gunnery 39 He should know how to charge and discharge Gunner like. 1709 Steele Tatler No. 82 ¶8 Did you charge these Pistols? 1803 Rees Cycl. s.v., Engineers have contrived a sort of cannons which are charged by the breech. |
| fig. 1588 Shakes. L.L.L. v. ii. 88 What are they, That charge their breath against us? |
6. Her. To place a bearing on (an escutcheon or another bearing). charged with: bearing.
| 1572 J. Bossewell Armorie 12 A ‘Gartiere’..maye not bee charged, but with floures or leaues. 1605 Camden Rem. (1637) 210 Charged with a Mullet of sixe poynts. 1808 Scott Marm. vi. xxxviii, He ..charged his old paternal shield With bearings won on Flodden Field. 1882 N. & Q. 25 Mar. 230 John, his younger brother, should charge his ancestor's crescent with another for himself. |
| transf. 1705 Addison Italy (J.) It is a pity the obelisks in Rome had not been charged with several parts of the Egyptian histories. a 1719 ― Medals i. 19 Nor are they [coins] only charged with Things but with many ancient Customs. |
7. a. To fill (any substance) with other matter, diffused or distributed throughout it (e.g. the air with vapour, water with mineral substances, etc.). Usually in pa. pple. charged with: containing or full of (the matter specified) in a state of diffusion or solution.
| [1601 Holland Pliny I. 106 The riuer Glaucus, charged with the riuer of Telemessus.] 1756 C. Lucas Ess. Waters I. 82 The hard waters are such as are charged with some..metallic matter. 1833 Lyell Princ. Geol. III. 371 A black argillaceous limestone, charged with belemnites. 1854 Brewster More Worlds v. 103 The air may be charged..with aqueous vapour. 1869 E. A. Parkes Pract. Hygiene (ed. 3) 79 Water highly charged with calcium carbonate. 1885 Manch. Exam. 5 June 5/2 Old workings charged with foul gas. (Cf. 4.) |
b. Electr. To cause to receive (electricity); to accumulate a quantity of electricity capable of being again discharged in (a Leyden jar, or any electrified body, or an ‘accumulator’).
| 1748 Franklin Lett. Wks. 1840 V. 199 The bottle being thereby discharged, the man would be charged. 1750 Ibid. 243 How does the phial become charged (as we term it)? 1869 Phillips Vesuv. iii. 48 The moving clouds were highly charged with electricity. 1881 Sir W. Thomson in Nature No. 619. 434 One of the twenty kilogramme cells charged..and left with its 60 candle-hours' capacity. |
8. fig. To fill, furnish fully, render replete. Usually in pa. pple. charged with: = bearing.
| 1581 Mulcaster Positions xxxviii. (1887) 175 Their braines be not so much charged, neither with weight nor with multitude of matters. a 1680 Butler Rem. (1759) II. 61 The harder he charges his Head with Politics, the more it recoils. 1849 Ruskin Sev. Lamps i. § 15. 26 Fair fronts of variegated mosaic, charged with wild fancies. 1850 Mrs. Browning Vis. Poets I. 246 Soft accents clear Charged with high meanings. 1863 Geo. Eliot Romola (1880) I. Introd. 3 A face charged with memories of a keen and various life. 1877 H. Page De Quincey I. xi. 205 The stores of fact..with which his memory was charged. |
II. To load heavily; to burden, put anything onerous, troublesome, hateful upon.
† 9. a. To lay too heavy a load upon; to overload, burden. Obs.
| 1398 Trevisa Barth. De P.R. xviii. cliv. (1495) 705 A voyde thynge of codware..and chargyth more than it fedith. 1481 Caxton Myrr. ii. x. 89 The clustres of grapes ben so grete..that the men ben gretly charged to bere one of them only vpon a colestaff. 1658 A. Fox tr. Wurtz' Surg. i. iii. 11 Charge not the wound with too much stitching. 1671 tr. Freius' Voy. Mauritania 33, I drank five or six cups of this admirable water, with which I felt my stomach no more charged than if I had drank but one. 1692 Locke Educ. (J.) A fault in the ordinary method of education, is the charging of childrens memories with rules and precepts. |
b. Painting and Decorative Art. To overload.
| 1762–71 H. Walpole Vertue's Anecd. Paint. (1786) II. 182 His shades not charged, but helped by varnish. 1784 J. Barry Lect. Art. iii. 133 Nothing is unskilfully charged for the purpose of obtaining grandeur. |
† 10. To press hard; in pass. to be hard pressed.
| 1375 Barbour Bruce xiii. 317 And thai with speris swa him met..That he and horss..war chargit swa That bath doune to the erd can ga. 1568 Grafton Chron. II. 281 The Frenche king understanding well that his men in Calyce were charged sore. |
† 11. fig. To burden with sin, guilt, care, sickness, etc. Obs.
| c 1308 Pol. Songs 195 Men that..Mest i-charged beth with sinne. 1340 Hampole Pr. Consc. 7953 Þai salle be swa hevy charged with syn. c 1340 Cursor M. 24233 (Fairf.) Þou charge þe [earlier MSS. cark þe] noȝt sa fast wiþ care. 1485 Caxton Paris & V. 31 A lytel charged in my conscyence. 1523 Ld. Berners Froiss. I. xx. 28 Kyng Robert of Scotland..was greatly charged with the great sickenes. 1633 G. Herbert Temple, Sacrifice lii, Lo, here I hang, charg'd with a world of sinne. |
† 12. To burden with expense, tribute, exactions, etc.; to put to expense; to be burdensome to. Obs. (Cf. 17, 18.)
| 1330 R. Brunne Chron. (1810) 54 Hardeknout did charge þe lond in suilk treuwage, Þat noiþer erle no barone myght lyue for taliage. 1375 Barbour Bruce iv. 344 The pouir folk of this cuntre Ar chargit..Of vs, that ydill lyis her. 1484–5 Caxton Curial 4 They knowe not of what dyspence they ben charged for to nourysshe them. 1596 Danett tr. Comines 225 He had more charged his people than euer had any of his predecessors. 1598 Shakes. Merry W. ii. ii. 171. 1611 Bible 1 Tim. v. 16 Let not the Church be charged. 1647 Clarendon Hist. Reb. iv. (1702) I. 250 Charging the Kingdom by Billetting of Soldiers. |
13. a. To impose a duty, task, or responsibility upon; to burden, entrust, commission with (of, obs.).
| c 1300 Beket 836 And thu afonge the bischopriche..That thu of non other thing ne scholdest icharged beo. c 1320 Seuyn Sag. (W.) 305 He scharged hem with his message. c 1489 Caxton Sonnes of Aymon 9, I shal tel him al alonge all that ye have charged me of. c 1550 Cheke Matt. iv. 6 He hath charged his angels with yow. 1605 Shakes. Lear v. iii. 163 What you haue charg'd me with, that haue I done. 1651 Hobbes Leviath. ii. xxxi. 193 Soveraigns..need not be charged with the Sciences Mathematicall. 1877 Brockett Cross & Cr. 482 He was..charged with the supervision of all the military schools. 1881 J. C. Shairp in Academy 12 Feb. 111 A few poets..who are charged with some old truth to revive. |
† b. ellipt. To commission, put in charge (or office). Obs. Cf. discharge.
| c 1400 Destr. Troy 7202 He chargyt was for no cheftain, ne chosyn by hym. Ibid. 8944 Sum clene prinse..To be charget as cheftain. 1532 G. Hervet tr. Xenophon's Househ. (1768) 13 Is there euer any other wyse man that ye trust and charge soo moche in your busines, as ye doo your wyfe. 1568 Grafton Chron. II. 167 Then was he discharged, and Sir John Breton knight charged for the rest of the yere. |
c. refl. to charge oneself with: to take upon oneself the charge or responsibility of.
| 1727 Arbuthnot Coins (J.) He charg'd himself with all the sea risk of such vessels. 1788 Ld. Auckland Corr. (1861) II. 89 The Venetian Ambassador has charged himself with my visitors. |
14. a. To lay a command or injunction upon; to command, order, enjoin; to exhort authoritatively; to give charge. Const. with inf., or with clause introduced by that; also simply (sometimes followed by the exact words of the command).
| c 1325 E.E. Allit. P. B. 464 How þe cheuetayn hym charged þat þe kyst ȝemed. 1303 R. Brunne Handl. Synne 1421 Whan he was chargede þe soþe to seye. c 1385 Chaucer L.G.W. 940 Enyas was chargit by Venus To fleen a-wey. 1393 Gower Conf. III. 218 And chargeth hem, that they ne flee. 14.. Epiph. (Tundale's Vis. 107) He charged hem..Homward by hym they schuld repeyre. 1480 Caxton Chron. Eng. ccxlii. 277 They..charged hym to lye still. 1535 Coverdale 1 Kings xxii. 16, I charge y⊇ that thou saye no other thinge vnto me but the trueth, in the name of y⊇ Lorde. 1594 Marlowe Dido i. i, Charge him from me to turn his stormy powers. 1601 Shakes. Twel. N. iv. i. 49 Hold Toby, on thy life I charge thee, hold. 1667 Milton P.L. x. 200, I charg'd thee, saying: Thou shalt not eate thereof. 1775 Sheridan St. Patr. Day ii. ii, Papa charged you to keep close to me. 1808 Scott Marm. v. vii, He had charged, that his array Should southward march by break of day. 1867 Mrs. H. Wood Orville Coll. iii. 47, I have strictly charged them..not to speak of this. |
† b. to charge to an answer, etc. Obs.
| 1595 Shakes. John iii. i. 151 Thou canst not (Cardinall) deuise a name So slight..To charge me to an answere, as the Pope. 1596 ― Merch. V. v. i. 298 Charge vs there vpon intergatories, And we will answer all things faithfully. |
c. To deliver an official or formal instruction or exhortation to (as a judge to the jury, a bishop to his clergy, etc.). Also absol. to deliver a ‘charge’. Cf. charge n. 15 b.
| 1618 Pulton Statutes 172 (Act 28 Edw. III, ix. marg.) No writ shal be directed to the Sheriffe to charge a Jury to indict any. 1856 Nat. Intelligencer 3 Nov. (Bartlett) ‘Well’, said the lawyer, ‘did the judge charge you’? 1870 Echo 19 May, The Bishop of Bath and Wells charged the clergy of his diocese at Castle Carey, yesterday. 1881 Newspr. The Lord Chief Justice proceeded to charge the jury. |
| absol. 1864 J. H. Newman Apol. 244 The Bishops one after another began to charge against me. |
15. a. To lay blame upon, blame, censure; to bring an accusation against, accuse.
| 138. Wyclif Sel. Wks. III. 344 Þei chargen hemsilf as ypocritis. a 1450 Knt. de la Tour (1868) 61 She wende to have lytelyd her synne, to have charged an other. 1586 J. Hooker Girald. Hist. Irel. in Holinshed II. 21/2 The king..charged him verie deepelie and sharplie for his rash and hastie adventures. 1611 Bible Job i. 22 In all this Iob sinned not, nor charged God foolishly. 1687 Abp. Wake Prep. for Death (L), I am so far from charging you as guilty in this matter, that, etc. 1721 St. German's Doctor & Stud. 284 For trespass of Battery..the master shall not be charged for his servant, unless he did it by his commandment. 1818 Cruise Digest I. 267 The husband shall be charged in an action of waste. |
b. Usual const. to charge (a person) with (a fault, crime, etc.): = to accuse of.
| 1559 Mirr. Mag., Dk. Clarence l. 7 To charge me with offence. 1596 Shakes. 1 Hen. IV, iii. iii. 175 Charge an honest Woman with picking thy pocket? 1672 Dryden Conq. Granada i. iv. ii, In charging your Unkindness with my Death. 1749 Fielding Tom Jones iv. xi, Thwackum, who was immediately charged by Mr. Blifil with the story. 1833 H. Martineau Three Ages iii. 96 Two labourers..were charged with creating a disturbance. |
† c. Former constructions. Obs.
| 1568 Grafton Chron. II. 87 The French Chronicle chargeth king Richard to be in great fault. 1579 Fulke Heskins' Parl. 475 [He] chargeth the Papistes of wilfull ignorance. 1605 Camden Rem. (1637) 271 Charged before King Henry the seventh for burning the Metropolitane Church of Cassiles in Ireland. 1681 Dryden Abs. & Achit. Introd., To charge me for not subscribing of my name. 1709 Strype Ann. Ref. I. v. 91 The Bishops charged the Protestants to have been the propounders of the questions. 1756 Johnson K. of Prussia Wks. IV. 550 [He] charges the English that they still retain it. |
d. absol. or intr. To bring a charge.
| 1891 Spectator 2 May, If she can but get the High Court of Justice to charge on her side. 1929 Publishers' Weekly 19 Oct. 1935/2 Thompson charged that McAndrew was the ‘king's stool pigeon’. |
16. a. to charge (a fault, etc.) on, upon, † against (a person): to lay it to his charge, impute as a fault.
| 1611 Speed Hist. Gt. Brit. ix. xvi. (1632) 836 The poynts of his speeches were as that fellow charged vpon him in open Parliament. 1685 Baxter Paraphr. N.T. Matt. v. 11 To have all manner of evil charged on you..falsly. 1693 Dryden Persius iii. (J.) Charge the crime, On native sloth, and negligence of time. 1738 Wesley Psalms (1765) No. 13. vii, Will they not charge my Fall on Thee? 1786 Trials J. Shepherd 46 I am perfectly innocent of the robbery charged against me. 1855 Prescott Philip II, i. (1857) 13 The blame should rather be charged on Philip's ministers than on Philip. 1875 Jowett Plato (ed. 2) III. 333 The inconsistency which is charged upon us. |
† b. To impute or ascribe to. Obs.
| 1737 Swift Let. 22 May, I hear it [a certain poem] is charged to me. |
c. To bring as an accusation; to state or assert in an indictment, to make a count in an indictment; to make the charge (that).
| 1785 Burke Corr. (1844) III. 38 We ought to be very careful not to charge what we are unable to prove. 1862 J. F. Stephen Defence Williams x, The second Count charged that Dr. Williams was Vicar of Broad Chalke. Ibid. xi, The fourth Count charged a publication in the Diocese of Salisbury. Mod. Newspr. (U.S.) It has been charged that Coleridge appropriated the ideas of Lessing. Some months ago a ‘Mason’, so it was charged, poisoned the archbishop of Quito. |
17. To subject or make liable (a person, estate, etc.) to a pecuniary obligation or liability. Const. with the liability; formerly to.
| a 1626 Bacon Use Com. Law 29 That heire..shall be charged of his owne lands or goods..for this deed of his ancestor. 1642 Perkins Prof. Bk. i. §1 (1642) 1 What things a man may grant or charge. 1712 Prideaux Direct. Ch.-Wardens (ed. 4) 50 They [certain lands]..must be charged equally with them [the Parish] to all the Burdens of it. 1815 Scott Guy M. ii, He was..charged to make payment of the expenses of a long lawsuit. 1818 Cruise Digest II. 185 H. Lawson..charged..all his personal estate, with the payment of his debts. 1845 M{supc}Culloch Taxation i. iv. (1852) 138 The incomes of those charged..in schedules D and E. 1853 Lytton My Novel II. xxv, If the Count pay the debts, and the lady's fortune be only charged with your own. |
18. to charge (a sum or price): a. To impose as a liability of pecuniary charge (on an estate or income).
| 1818 Cruise Digest VI. 340 The debts were not..charged upon the real estate. 1845 M{supc}Culloch Taxation i. iv. (1852) 135 Whether it [the tax] should be charged indifferently on all incomes. 1874 Act 37 & 38 Vic. c. 3. §9 Moneys to be charged on the revenues of India. |
b. To impose, claim, demand, or state as the price or sum due for anything.
| 1787 ‘G. Gambado’ Acad. Horsem. (1809) 46, I myself saw 3s. charged in his bill for wine. 1872 Black Adv. Phaeton xxviii. 376 Do you think we ought to charge two-pence this time? 1883 Lloyd Ebb & Fl. II. 115 [The price] she charged for her eggs. Mod. How much do you charge for these? |
c. absol. To make a (pecuniary) charge.
| a 1843 Southey Devil's Walk 46 If he charges at this rate for all things. 1867 Mrs. H. Wood Orville Coll. ix. 128, I could not charge..please say no more about payment. |
d. With double object (combining 17 and 18): to charge a person a certain sum (for a service or thing sold).
| 1850 Kingsley Alt. Locke x. (1876) 109 Charging his customers too..high prices. 1875 Jevons Money (1878) 113 If every depositor of a pound were liable to be charged 2 per cent. for lightness. Mod. He charged me a shilling for the operation. They were charged five shillings a head for dinner. |
19. to charge (a thing sold or offered for sale): a. To lay the liability of payment for (a thing) on a person; to put as a charge to or against (his account). Also const. on. Freq. U.S.
| a 1889 Mod. To whom are the cigars to be charged? Charge these to my account (or against me). 1929 W. Faulkner Sound & Fury 231 Have you been charging things at stores again? 1947 Steinbeck Wayward Bus 209 She could charge her clothes and sign cheques in restaurants. 1966 New Yorker 22 Oct. 20 (Advt.), Charge everything from a surfboard to a luau on your American Express Credit Card. |
b. To put a price on; to rate.
| Mod. He charges coal at 8d. a cwt. (= He charges 8d...for coal; cf. 18 b). |
III. To attach weight to. [A transference of the notion of load.]
† 20. To attach weight or importance to; to care for, regard, reck. With negative, To make no account of, set at nought. Obs. a. trans. (or with obj. clause.)
| c 1320 R. Brunne Medit. 470 Þat he nat chargeþ hym self to spyl. 138. Wyclif Sel. Wks. III. 350 For þei chargen more þer owne statute..þan þei done þe lawe of þe gospel. 1388 Wyclif Gen. xxv. 34 Esau..chargide litil that he hadde seld the riȝt of the firste gendrid child. c 1440 Promp. Parv. 69 Chargyn or gretely sett a thynge to herte, penso. c 1449 Pecock Repr. 445 Nile thou [Timothy] litil charge the grace which is in thee. 1563–87 Foxe A. & M. (1684) I. 456/1 They chargen more mens traditions than thy commandment. |
† b. intr. Const. of. Obs.
| 1388 Wyclif Matt. xxii. 16 Thou chargist not of ony man. c 1440 Promp. Parv. 70 Chargyn, rekkyn or yeve tale, curo. c 1500 Lancelot 2453 He chargit not bot of encress and fame. |
† c. to be not (nought) to charge: to be of no importance, to matter not. Obs.
| 138. Wyclif Sel. Wks. III. 352 Dette is not to charge but ȝif it turne to goostli help. c 1440 York Myst. xx. 120 Childre wordis are noȝt to charge. 1488 Caxton Chast. Goddes Chyld. 12 A thyng that nought is to charge or lityl. |
IV. To attack impetuously: and senses leading up to it.
[Sense 21 may be connected with 4 or 5, but the links are not clear; perhaps 21 b is the earlier, and connected with 14. Sense 22 is also in French, but Littré gives no clue to its origin. Cf. the n. senses 17, 18.]
21. a. To place (a weapon) in position for action; to ‘level’, direct the aim of. (In charge bayonets! it appears to have passed into sense 22.)
| 1509 Hawes Past. Pleas. xxxiii. xv, My spere I charged..and to this giaunt I toke my course. Ibid. (1845) 193 As I gan my grete stroke to charge. 1599 Shakes. Much Ado v. i. 136, I shall meete your wit in the careere, and you charge it against me. 1603 Knolles Hist. Turks (J.) He rode up and down gallantly mounted, and charged and discharged his lance. 1623 Bingham Xenophon 116 But when..they..gaue a shout, and charged their pikes, the enemy..fled. 1724 De Foe Mem. Cavalier, Several bodies of the enemy's foot..stood with their pikes charged to keep us off. 1727 A. Hamilton New Acc. E. Ind. II. liii. 266 With a charged Trident in his right Hand, ready to throw at Offenders. 1853 Stocqueler Mil. Encycl. s.v., Charge bayonets! a word of command given to infantry to advance on the enemy with bayonets fixed. |
| transf. 1824 Scott Redgauntlet viii, P. blundered into the middle of the apartment, with his head charged like a ram's head in the act of butting. |
† b. To spur on (a war-horse) to full speed.
† c. To direct and aim (a blow or stroke). Obs.
| c 1500 Lancelot 3398 His horss than can [= gan] he with his spuris charg..And in the thikest of the press is gon. 1509 Hawes Past. Pleas. (1845) 193 Thy grete stroke to charge. |
22. a. To rush against or upon, with all one's force, in a hostile way; to spur one's horse against at full gallop; to bear down upon, make a violent onset on, attack or assail with impetuosity. Esp. in military use; also said of a powerful animal rushing at any opponent, of players at football, etc.
| 1583 Stanyhurst æneis ii. (Arb.) 45 With his chaapt staf speedelye running Strong the steed [the Trojan horse] he chargeth. 1593 Shakes. 3 Hen. VI, i. i. 8 Lord Clifford and Lord Stafford all a-brest Charg'd our maine Battailes Front. 1605 ― Lear ii. i. 53 With his prepared Sword, he charges home My vnprouided body, latch'd mine arme. 1664 in 10th Rep. Comm. Hist. MSS. App. iv. 69 Col. Ludlowe with a regiment of Wilshire horse..did charge and route 1400 of the King's forces. 1795 Southey Joan of Arc viii. 583 Then sallying forth, With such fierce onset charged them in the rear. 1857 Hughes Tom Brown v, Meet them like Englishmen, you School-house boys, and Charge them home. 1870 Bryant Iliad I. vii. 223 On foot to charge the foe. 1882 Daily News 4 Mar., The Englishmen asserting that Payne charged Maclagan over before he got the ball. Mod. The infuriated bull charged one of the horses. |
| fig. a 1656 Bp. Hall Rem. Wks. (1660) A ij b, Constantly charged with furious onsets of his sharp diseases. |
b. intr. or absol.
| 1593 Shakes. 3 Hen. VI, i. iv. 15 Richard cry'de, Charge, and giue no foot of ground. 1652 Wadsworth tr. Sandoval's Civ. Wars Spain 362 Hee, with five Horsemen more, charged into the Earl of Venavente's troop. 1663 Butler Hud. i. ii. 902 Through thickest of his Foes he charg'd. 1808 Scott Marm. vi. xxxii, ‘Charge, Chester, charge! On, Stanley, on!’ Were the last words of Marmion. 1855 Prescott Philip II, i. vii. (1857) 120 Orders were then given to charge, and, spurring forward their horses, the whole column came thundering on against the enemy. 1878 H. M. Stanley Dark Cont. I. 219 (Hoppe) As she [the canoe] charged up, bold and confident, propelled by the paddlers. 1881 Times 14 Feb. Hunting, A mob of hard-riding strangers charging across their fields and breaking through their fences. Mod. The elephant charged at the tree with terrific violence. |