Charge

Part of speech: verb, noun

Pronunciation: /t͡ʃɑːd͡ʒ/

Definitions

1. To accuse someone formally of wrongdoing, or to rush forward with force, or the price asked for goods or services
2. To formally allege misconduct against someone, to move quickly in a determined manner, or the amount demanded for a product or service
3. To assert that an individual has committed a crime, to advance energetically towards a target, or the fee required for a transaction

Etymology: The verb has a surprisingly literal start: it began as a word about loading a cart. Latin "carrus" meant a wheeled vehicle or wagon, and Late Latin "carricare" meant to load a wagon. Old French turned this into "chargier," meaning to load or burden, and the sense of physical weight carried over into the idea of a burden placed on someone. That burden gradually became a legal and moral one. Middle English "chargen" carried the sense of putting a load on a person or thing, and from there the word spread into the language of accusation, where a person is loaded with an offence. The noun followed the same path, moving from the cargo in a wagon to the duty or expense placed on someone. The word is a doublet of "cargo," meaning that both came from the same source but entered English by different routes, one through French and the other through Spanish and Portuguese, so the two words still share a wagon at their root.

Synonyms: accuse, implicate, blame, assign, instruct

Antonyms: defend, absolve, exonerate, clear, release