Charr

Part of speech: verb

Definitions

1. A species of fish typically found in cold waters, sought after for its culinary quality; to cook food until it is browned or blackened on the surface, often to boost flavor; the residue or surface of something that has been exposed to high heat and burnt
2. A genus of fish appreciated in gourmet cuisine for its unique taste and culinary versatility; the act of grilling or roasting food until brown, often giving a smoky flavor; to describe a blackened or crisped exterior created by intense heat during cooking
3. A coldwater fish prized for its delicate flavor and texture, referring also to the technique of cooking food until it develops a crispy, browned surface, and denoting the charred remains left on cookware after exposure to significant heat

Etymology: The fish and the verb to char are probably unrelated, and the verb's own history is the more tangled part. The fish name may come from a Celtic root meaning "fiery red", a reference to the colour of its belly, or it may have been borrowed from a Middle Low German word for flounder, perhaps tied to a Germanic verb meaning "to cut" and the word "shard". Nobody is certain which. The verb is a back-formation from "charcoal", meaning that speakers worked backward from the longer noun and created a shorter verb from it. "Charcoal" was itself the source of the word "char" in the sense of burning wood into carbon, and from there the verb spread to mean scorching anything with heat. Its earlier name has a surprisingly different pedigree: the "char" meaning a chore or odd job is a separate word, descended from an Old English term for a turn or occasion.

Synonyms: burn, scorch

Antonyms: extinguish