† charet, charette Obs.
Forms: 5 charrette, 5–6 charett, 5–7 charette, (6 chear-, chairette), 6–7 charet, charret.
[a. OF. charrette, (charete) wagon, cart, dim. of OF. charre car n.1 (prob. of Romanic age: cf. It. and med.L. carretta, Sp. and Pr. carreta). In mod.French charrette is a two-wheeled vehicle with two shafts, while chariot is four-wheeled. This distinction may be historical, and may have existed originally in Eng. also; but here, after the shifting of the stress to the first syllable, and consequent obscuration of the termination, charet(te and chariot were confounded and treated as synonymous; and the former became obsolete before the middle of the 17th c., though it virtually survived as a pronunciation of chariot till the 19th c. With six exceptions charet occurs uniformly in the Bible of 1611, but has been everywhere changed in later editions to chariot.]
1. A wheeled vehicle or conveyance. a. for persons or goods; a carriage, chariot, cart, wagon, etc.
| ? a 1400 Chester Pl. ii. (1847) 141 Fower charrettes came anon. c 1400 Mandeville xxii. 241 In a Charett with 4 Wheles..and 4 or 5 or 6 of the grettest Lordes ryden aboute this charyot. 1494 Fabyan vii. 535 So many wedgys of golde as shulde charge or lade viii. charettis. 1533 Cranmer in Ellis Orig. Lett. i. 114 II. 37 Riche charettes..furnysshed with diverse auncient old lades. 1606 L. Bryskett Civ. Life 100 It is harder to rule two horses to guide a coach or charret then one. 1611 Bible 2 Kings ix. 16 So Iehu rode in a charet. 1653 H. Cogan tr. Pinto's Trav. iii. §2. 7 This Imposter rode up and doun the Town in a triumphant Charret. 1654 Trapp Comm. Ps. xlv. 4 The Kings of the earth..have their Charrets drawn by other horses. |
b. A war-chariot. (In biblical or classical use.)
| 1535 Coverdale Dan. xi. 40 And the kinge of the north..shall come agaynst him with charettes. ― Zech. vi. 2 In the first charet were reade horse. 1611 Bible Ex. xiv. 7 Hee tooke sixe hundred chosen charets. 1650 R. Gell Serm. 8 Aug. 20 There were seen in the air..charets and armed men. 1676 Hobbes Iliad iii. 28 Arm'd from his charret to the ground leapt he. |
2. Comb. and
attrib., as
charet-city,
charet-driver,
charet-horse,
charet-wheel;
charet-man,
= charioteer.
| 1611 Bible 2 Chron. i. 14 A thousand and foure hundred charets, and twelue thousand horsemen, which he placed in the *charet-cities. |
| 1581 Savile Tacitus' Hist. ii. xciv. (1591) 108 Vitellius..builded vp stables for *charet driuers. |
| 1611 Bible 2 Sam. viii. 4 Dauid houghed all the *charet horses. |
| 1535 Coverdale 2 Kings ix. 18 The *charetman rode to mete them. 1577 Holinshed Chron. I. 26/2 And those charetmen by exercise and custome were so cunning. 1611 Bible 2 Chron. xviii. 33 Hee sayd to his charetman, Turne thine hand. |
| ― 1 Kings vii. 33 *Charet wheele. |
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▸ Chiefly
N. Amer. (
orig. Archit.). A period of intense (group) work, typically undertaken in order to meet a deadline. Also: a collaborative workshop focusing on a particular problem or project; (
Town Planning) a public meeting or conference devoted to discussion of a proposed community building project.
Probably originally with reference to the former custom among French architecture students of using a cart to carry their work on the day of an exhibition: see
Trésor de la Langue Fran{cced}aise s.v. charrette.
| 1959 Jrnl. Archit. Educ. 14 34/1, I was on many a charette. I got to appreciate the wonderful spirit..that seems to be present in architectural schools. 1969 Panama City (Florida) Herald 14 Aug. 11 a This was the second charrette to be conducted in Florida and the first where education specifications were written for elementary, middle and high schools simultaneously. 1977J. Draper in S. Kostof Architect 223 Tales of rowdy parties, mad charettes, and lively traditions filled their reminiscences. 1989 Mod. Painters Autumn 31/3, I missed the ‘Community Planning Weekend’ that had been organised along the lines of an American ‘Charette’ by community architects. 1998 Urbanite Nov. 6/3 My students start with weekend sessions and continue to a full-week charrette during the week preceding the actual local competition. 2000 Sci. Amer. Mar. 17/2 On the second day of the charette, a representative..disputed..[the] description of the planned train line as a light-rail link among neighborhoods. |