Charing

Part of speech: verb

Definitions

1. Scorching a surface with fire until it turns black ; doing part-time domestic cleaning work in other people's homes
2. Burning something lightly so its surface blackens ; working as a hired cleaner who tidies homes for pay
3. Blackening material with heat or flame ; performing housekeeping and cleaning tasks by the hour in someone else's house

Etymology: Charing is the form of "chare", a verb meaning to do odd jobs or housework, usually by the day. The verb comes from Middle English "chare", a variant of "char", which meant a turn, a task or a piece of business. Its ancestor is the Old English "ċierr", meaning a turn or change, and it reaches back to a Germanic root meaning to turn or sweep. That sense of turning gives the story its shape. A "char" was originally a single turn of work, so a woman who went out to do a few hours of cleaning was, in effect, doing a turn. Over time the word narrowed from any task or occasion to domestic labour, and the verb "chare" took on the meaning of cleaning and tidying other people's homes. "Charing" is what you are doing while you do it, and it has kept the old sense of a job done in portions rather than as a permanent post.

Synonyms: scorching, singeing, searing