The "Chafe" surname originally came from the present village of Chaffcombe, Somerset, England.
The name Chaffcombe was listed in the Domesday
Book commissioned by William
the Conqueror in 1086. From that documented point the surname became tied
to people from the village. The surname usage grew in size
largely in the Somerset, Devon and Dorset areas. With the growth of the
surname, both the written spelling and spoken word changed into a number of
variations. In the 1600 and 1700's the surname became established in Canada and the
United States
where a number of these variations now predominate. The five most common
variations that share the same ancestry are Chaffe/Chaffey (England), Chafe (Canada),
Chaffee/Chaffey/Chafee (US) and Chaffey (Australia). In the discussion below, the "older" Chafe
variation will be used to describe the surname as a whole.
The
following is a list of various interesting facts and figures about the Chafe
(and spelling variations) surname. Further information and graphics on
the coat of arms are located on this webpage.
Heraldry
and Coat of Arms:
Earliest Documented Version (1648)
From the Diaries of the Chafes
by Rev. W.K.W. Chafy, 1910, the "Coat of Arms, whose origin and first adoption are unascertainable, was
assumed from the time by various Chafes of Chafe combe, but upon what
authority is unknown, for although it is mentioned in the collection of the
College of Arms it was has never been formally assigned to anyone. It is
azure, five fusiles in fesse, a canton argent. Crest a demi lion
rampant,
azure, bezante holding lozenge, or between its paws. The first individual known to
have borne it is Robert Chaffe Mayor of Exeter in 1568 and 1575, its
ascription to him being found in an Alphabet of arms of Devon and Cornwall families,
and said to have been written about 1689". An example of this
coat of arms can be seen in the effigy
of Thomas Chafe (c.1648) located in St. Giles in the Wood Church, Devon.
Shield: Azure, Five Fusiles in Fesse, A Canton Argent
- Azure: Blue
- Fusil: A kind of spindle used in spinning. A fusil is
diamond shaped, more elongated than a lozenge and is an ancient symbol of
labour and industry.
- Fess: A broad horizontal band across the middle of
the shield/flag
- Canton Argent: A flag borne at the top corner of the
shield; reward from the sovereign for performance of eminent service - silver
or white.
Crest: A demi lion
rampant,
azure, bezante holding lozenge, or between its paws.
- Lion: The noblest of all wild beasts, which is made
to be the emblem of strength and valour
- Bezante: Covered or studded with bezants (silver
dots)
- Or: Gold
More Recent Version (1822)
According to the Devonshire
Wills by Charles Worthy, 1896, "the
arms used for many centuries by this family, "azure, five fusils
in fesse, argent, a canton of the last," and which surmount the tomb already referred to in the parish church of St Giles in the Heath, have been superseded, since 1822, by Dr.
Chafy's predecessors. In pursuance of an Earl Marshal's warrant in that year directed to the Kings of Arms, consequent upon the application of the Rev. W.
Chafy, great-grandfather of the present owner of Rous-Lench, a coat, which satisfactorily marks the descent of the Chafy's from Hugo, Thegn of
Chafecombe, and his connection
with the
Saxon Earldom of Devon, the badge of which was a gryphon then, and down to the commencement of the third century after the Conquest, was granted
to him and his heirs, and may be thus blazoned: - Per pale gules and azure, a gryphon
segreant, argent; on a chief, engrailed erm., three lozenges in fess of the second.
Crest, on a mount vert, a peacock in its pride, between two palm-branches, all
ppr."
Shield: Red with a gold griffin
(half eagle/half lion mythical creature) with an ermine stripe on which there are three blue diamond
shapes.
Motto: Fide et Fiducia (By fidelity and confidence)
Coat of Arms: Azure, A Fess Lozengy Argent
- Per-Pale: a shield divided per-pale has the left and
right sides of different colours. Gules: red and Azure: blue
- Azure: blue,
denotes loyalty and truth. The color
of clear sky or unclouded sky.
- Fesse: or band,
this is the military belt of honor and is shown on the shield by a band running
across the center of the shield horizontally.
- Lozengy: the border
of the fesse or band having rhomboidal figures. (conjoined equal sides and
unequal angles). Figure with four equal sides and two acute and two obtuse
angles (diamond shape). Symbolizes honesty and constancy and is also held to be a token of noble
birth.
- Argent: to make
clear; silver metal or whiteness.
- Segreant: the gryphon when depicted is standing on its
hind legs, with the wings elevated and addorsed.
Crest: A peacock, (used in
ecclesiastical decoration and symbolizing beauty, power, knowledge and omniscience)
on mount vert (green), in its pride (tail extended), between two palm-branches
(symbolizing victory, justice, and royal honour).
The
Saxon
and Olf French word combe
means a deep narrow valley or basin on the flank of a hill. The British kumb, meaning valley was used so extensively that it was adopted
into Old English as cumb and has yielded numerous English placenames containing
Combe and Coombe. Chafecombe or Chaffcombe can also be derived from the
term cleaf (ceaf) cumb which in Saxon means breezy valley.
The word chaff itself dates from before the 12th century England and can be related to; the residue
husk or stalk left when threshing grain and removing the seed; anything
worthless or fit to be cast off; the straw or hay cut up fine for the food of
cattle. Caf could also mean winding. Caffecome is
compounded of the Saxon lay for sharp, and lomb for valley.
'Coombe', a valley, derives from the Welsh 'cwm' and Saxon 'cumb'.
Akin to Old High German cheva meaning husk.
The
name of the town may be related to a Saxon settler, and has been referenced to
'Ceaffa's valley that stretches across the western slopes of the Windwhistle ridge
overlooking Chard. Latin: palea means chaff or husk.
The
pronunciation of the Chafe surname is varied - likely arising in isolated local
village dialects influenced by early Norman/English/Latin inflections on syllables.
The three parts of the surname can be spoken with various
emphasis on the letter combinations. "CH" can be pronounced
with a hard "c" like "charcoal", as a "k" as in
cake" or "calf" or like an "s" as in
"shave". The "A" can be spoken like "ehh"
or like "ahh". There are many variations in the last letters
"F", "FE", "FFE", "EE" or "FEY" that have
two sounding variations; one with a silent "e" as in
"safe", another with the "e" sounding like a
"y", as in "navy" or "eel". These last
letters account for most of the spelling variations as well. The
surname was often spelt phonetically before reading or writing
were common. From the analysis on this website it is most likely that
the "EE" variation emigrated from Dorset/Somerset (east of
Chaffcombe), England to the United States, and the "e" variation emigrated
from Devon (west of Chaffcombe) to Canada (Table
4). It is possible
that the long silent "E" Chaffe/Chafe branch moved to Devon in the
1500's and the long "EE" branch of Chaffey/Chaffy branch
stayed in Somerset and later expanded into Dorset. In Australia, they
pronounce Chaffey with an "ai" or "aye"" and a hard
"ch" to sound like CHAIIFFEY.
DNA
analysis on male Chaffe surnames indicate a possible Celtic linage.
Chaffe's tested to date are from the R1b Haplogroup (HG1). Male ancestors in the I Haplo group are "Viking"
and came from Northern Scandinavia and prior to that when Scandinavia was
covered with the ice sheet, from what is now Croatia. The R1a Haplo group
has origins around the northern Caspian Sea area. Chaffe male ancestors would have lived in the
Basque area
of Spain about 10,000 years ago.
Variations
in the spelling of the Chafe surname that (may) have evolved within the Devon,
Dorset, Somerset area include: Chaffyng (1332 Dorset), Chaf (1663 Devon), Chafe (1558 Devon),
Chafee (1657 Dorset), Chafey (1651 Somerset & Dorset), Chaff (1479 Devon),
Chaffe (1578 Devon), Chaffee (1550
Somerset), Chaffety (none found), Chaffey (1560 Somerset), Chaffie (1536 Devon),
Chaffin (1533 Dorset), Chaffy (1593 Somerset), Chaffye (1585 Somerset),
Chafie (1584 Dorset), Chafin (1559 London, 1589 Dorset, 1593 Wiltshire), Chafy (1500 Dorset),
Chave (1557 Devon), and
Shafe (1692 Devon). Text in the brackets references the year and location from
earliest records on the Internet Genealogy Service.
Research shows that some of this data from the LDS site is suspect and may
not comprehensive. It
should be noted that parish registers
apparently started around 1538 in England. Tables 1 and 2 show the
distribution of 2987 LDS Chafe surnames (of which 33% were duplicates) from 1450
to 1799 in England by county and town. It is understandable that
variations could have evolved because of the isolation between villages was
great before trains and automobiles were introduced. Considering people
could walk a distance of about 15-20 miles per day and carts houses twice
that, movement across one end of Devon to the other could take 3 days.
The Chaif variation may have evolved in Canada as the French Canadian
equivalent of the Newfoundland Chafe's.
Other similarly sounding or spelt
(or miss-spelt) surnames are
not likely related to the Chafe name: Caffey (1580 Surrey), Chafer (1530 London,
1575 Northampton), Chaffen (1566 London, 1587 Wiltshire), Chaffer (1560 Lincoln,
1569 Norfolk), Chaffers (1668 London), Chaffins (1823 Yorkshire), Chaffle (1744
Gloucester), Chaffyn (1537, Sussex), Chafins (1819 Lincoln), Chafis (1567
Essex), Chafye (1642 London), Chase (1546 Buckingham, 1547 Hampshire),
Chasey, Chayfes
(1555 Lincoln), Chayffe (1557 Yorkshire), Shave (1575 Suffolk), Schafe (1662
Wuerttemberg, Germany),
Schaffe (1636 Baden, Germany), Shaffe (1624 Essex), Shafey (1850 US). Text in the brackets
references the year & location from earliest records on the Internet Genealogy Service.
The
Chaffin/Chafin surname from the Internet Genealogy Service
starts in
1533 in New Sarum (Salisbury), Dorset; Mere (1566), Wiltshire; and Bruton
(1639), Somerset, England. The surname also starts in 1691 in Haute-Saone, France. Thomas
Chaffin emigrated from England to the Virginia colony in 1664 and may have
started this
line in the United States. The Chaffin Coat of
Arms are posted on these sites: 1,
2.
It is unknown at this point if the Chaffin (plus variations) surname is
related to the Chafe (plus variations) surname. However in
the 1500's this surname appears in LDS to originate in southwest England along with
the other Chafe surnames. In the US, towns with this name include
Chaffinville, MA, Chaffin Crossing, TX, Chaffin Place, TX, Chafin Branch, WV. City names with Chaffin do not appear in any other country in the
world. From
the LDS website, for 297 Chaffin/Chafin surnames (exact spelling/duplicates
eliminated) born between 1537 and 1886, the highest proportion were born in
Dorset (22%), then Somerset (13%), then Wiltshire (10%) and then London
8%). Looking closely on a subset of 139 names between 1537 and 1699 the
distribution is Dorset (38%), Wiltshire (17%), Somerset (13%), London (5%).
Some of the cities of note are Bruton, Somerset
- 28 miles northeast of Chaffcombe, Mere,
Wiltshire - 35 miles northeast of Chaffcombe and Chettle, Dorset - 40 miles
east of Chaffcombe. There was a famous battle of the Civil War fought at
Chaffin's Farm,
New Market Heights Virginia, September 29-30, 1864. Eugene
Chafin was on the electoral ballot in 1912 against Woodrow Wilson and
Theodore Roosevelt. Chaffin/Chafin/Chafins surnames are 4 to 1 more prevalent
than Chaffee/Chaffey/Chafe in the United States, however there are far fewer
place names in the US with this surname. In the UK, Chaffin represents
11% of the Chaffey/Chaffe/Chafe/Chaffin total. Based on LDS data
compiled from 1567 to 1727, Chaffin/Chafin accounted for 9% of the surname
total.
How
many of the surname were present at the time of immigration to America
(1600-1700's) is difficult to determine. The surname population growth
between 1851and 1901 (Table
6) was about 10% per decade. The Chaffey surname grew in
proportion to the total while the Chaff and Chaffy surnames decreased. Assuming that the
likely age for immigration was between 20 and 39 year, then number of males
available for migration (or procreation) at any time was Chaffey/Chaffy in the
late 1700's were likely: 55, Chaffe/Chaff: 27,
Chaffin: 15.
The
Onomastikon
(Dictionary of Names) claims the Chaffe and Chaff surname is based on a
nickname given to describe appearance, tastes, clothes, temper, morals.
Chafer and Chaffer are based on a trade name by which one earned a living to
become important as a means of identification.
Why there are not a significant number of
Chafe's or Chaffee's in England at present is a mystery. It appears that
the
family surname expanded in North America and to some degree in Australia and
New Zealand. In England the most common
present form of the surname is Chaffey followed by Chaffe (Table
9). In
Australia the growth of the name was likely tied to families related to George
Chaffey starting in 1887.
The
first Chaffe in America was Matthew
Chaffe, in Boston August 14 1636. However the starting point in America was likely Thomas
Chaffe who arrived in Hingham, Massachusetts in 1637.
By 1660 Thomas had relocated to the Barrington, Rhode Island area where he
raised his family.
The
first Chafe in Canada was John Chafe
(c1685-1759)
from Ipplepen/Berry
Pomeroy in Devon. He lived in Petty
Harbour, Newfoundland starting in 1705/6.
Many Chafe's
left Newfoundland and moved to Ontario
and Nova Scotia. Table
12 shows the current
worldwide distribution of the Chafe family name. Newfoundland still has 61% of
Canada's Chafe surname, 41% worldwide.
The
Stonepics
database contains a list of 395 Chafe and 100 Chaffey cemetery locations in
Newfoundland.
One
branch of the family was tied closely to Somerset. The Chaffey
name first appeared around 1560 (from LDS). The ancestors of the name in
North America have been traced back with certainty until 1707,
and to a lesser degree until 1631. Those in the family owned a
stone quarry on Ham Hill overlooking Stoke-sub-Hamden and Norton (5 miles west of
Yeovil). This family line was very dynamic and being relatively recent emigrants
to North America, fairly well documented. There were a number of
significant family members who made an impact in Ontario, Quebec, California, Pennsylvania
and south east Australia. The City of
Ontario, California was founded in
1882 by descendants George and William from Kingston, Ontario, Canada.
They then went on to found Mildura in Australia in 1887.
Forty
Five Chaffey's
were registered in Jeffrey's along the Crabbs River, on the west coast of Newfoundland in 1921.
This number was reduced to 25 by 1945. There is still a strong presence
of in Jeffery's, St Davids and Stephenville today. The west coast line
of Chaffey's
from Jeffery's dates back to John Chaffey from Milton Abbas, England who died
Dec 28, 1811. His wife Elizabeth was born in 1754. An east cost
line of Chaffey's ranged from the east side of Notre Dame Bay to the south
side of Bonavista Bay. The death of Thomas
Chaffey was recorded in 1790 in Bonavista Bay Anglican Church. A Thomas
Chaffey married Mary Brushett in 1805 at Bonavista.
William
Chaaf or
Chafe or Chaff
was a prisoner convicted in Exeter in 1787 and was on the Charlotte
one of six convict ships in the First Fleet that sailed from Portsmouth to New
South Wales in 1787. Thomas
Chaffey sailed from
Plymouth to Australia on the HMS Scarborough with the Second Fleet in 1790.
Chaffhay
Farm is located in Devon near Axminister, 8 miles south west of Chaffcombe
near the Yarty River.
The
City of Chaffee, Missouri was founded in 1905 and based on the Chaffee Real Estate Company in St. Louis that
was involved in the land purchase. Other US cities that are called
Chaffee are located in New York, Pennsylvania, North Dakota, Washington,
California and West Virginia. There
are two Chaffee Brook's in Massachusetts and Maine. There are two
Chaffee Creek's in New York and Wisconsin. There are two Chaffee Run's
in Pennsylvania and West Virginia. Chaffee
Gulch's occur in Colorado and Wyoming. Chaffee Well is located in New Mexico
and Chaffe Ravine is located in Minnesota . There is
Chaffee Corners, Pennsylvania; Chaffee Village, Texas; Chaffee Ranch, South
Dakota
and Chaffeeville, Connecticut. The town of Chaffey is located in Wisconsin. Chaffey Township in
located in Ontario's Muskoka
District. Chaffey Mills and Locks
are
located in Ontario. Chaffey is an Electoral
District for the South Australian Government. There is an Island Chaffee off Long Beach, California. There is also a Chaffee
Mountain, elevation 2562 ft, 20 miles north of Rutland Vermont, and a Lake
Chaffee in Connecticut. Chaffey Dam and Reservoir
supplies water for the town of Tamworth in New South Wales.
Worldwide,
there
are at least 34 streets/roads/lanes named Chaffee, 15 for Chaffey, 3 for
Chafee and 2 for Chafe.
Famous
and influential Chaffe/Chaffee/Chafee/Chaffey/Chafe's include US Generals, pioneers
in the
US midwest, Canada and Australia,
Senators, an astronaut and multimillionaire tycoons. There are also
numerous interactions with family members and important figures in history,
such as Abraham Lincoln, William Bligh, Walt Disney, Queen Victoria, Charles
Goodyear, Oscar Wilde, Harpo Marx and Harry Houdini.
There
are two Chaffe's and three Chaffey's living in South Africa (2003).
There are also 8 Chafeker's.
Chaffee
Crater is located on the far side of the moon, and named after Astronaut Roger
Chaffee. Chaffee Hill is
located on Mars.
The
US M24 Chaffee Light Tank was christened in honour of General Adna R
Chaffee Jr. Fort
Chaffee in Arkansas was
built in 1941 was also named after the General. Three
US
Navy ships have been named after the family surname.
From
the a list of Unincorporated
and Unofficial Names of Massachusetts Communities, Oxford, Worcester is
unofficially called Chaffee and Holden, Worcester is unofficially called
Chaffinville.
The
Kenny-Chaffe
Syndrome is a skeletal disorder observed as thickening of the long bones, thin
marrow cavities in the bones, and abnormalities of the head and eyes. It
is related to Hypoparathyroidism.
Chafe
is ranked number 61st in a list of the most common surnames found on tombstones
in Newfoundland. There were 575 tombstone locations, compared with the
leading surname, Parsons
with 2517.
Wyland C.
Chaffey, London, 1890 published "Lymph-stasis, or
retardation of lymph, as an element in the causation of disease; especially
in regard to scrofula and tuberculosis".
A
list of Devon
Parishes can be found on the GENUKI website.
The
Devon 1891
Census Project shows Chaffe's living in the Buckfastleigh area.
Exeter
Cathedral Link has online, records of births/death/marriages. The
Chafe and Chaffe's listed are from 1660 to 1740 and reflect primarily the
Chafe surname.
In
20 of this 38 plays, Shakespeare mentions chafed 10 times, chafe 7 times,
chafes
5 times, chafing 3 times and enchafed 2 times
Between
1773 to 1778, 6 Chaffey, 2 Chaffie, 1 Chafie, 1 Chafin, 1 Chafy were
registered with the Sherborne and Yeovil Mercury Newspapers.
The
1807 Dorset
Poll Book shows four "Chaffey"s registered (no other "Chaf"
variations reported).
An
1871 census of Bath had the following surnames registered: 8 Chaffey, 6
Chaffin, 1 Chaffing, 5 Chaffle.
In
the American Civil War the following are the number of soldiers who fought:
Chaffey 13 Union, Chafe 2 Union, 6 Chaffe Union, 2 Chaffe Confederate, 55
Chafee Union, 5 Chafee Confederate, 238 Chaffee Union, 7 Chaffee
Confederate. Taking out possible duplicates:
Chaffey 12 Union, Chafe 2 Union, 6 Chaffe Union, 2 Chaffe Confederate, 47 Chafee Union,
3 Chafee Confederate, 199 Chaffee Union, 7 Chaffee Confederate. Of all
the ranks there were 4 Captains, 6 Lieutenants 6, 35 Sergents, 20 Corporals,
183 Privates, 4 Surgeons and 24 of other ranks. In the war there were a
total of 3,253,363 veterans, the surname represent 0.0085% of this total.
Marriage/burial registration
in the Devon/Plymouth taken in 1754-1812 and in
1813-1837 show the surname distribution by area (Table
5)
Surnames
belonging to ship owners and seafarers based out of Atlantic Canada in the
1900's include:
Chafe, Chaff, Chaffe, Chaffey, and Chaffy.
In
the 1871
Lovell's Directory 22% of the male residents (35 out of 160) of Petty
Harbour, Newfoundland had a surname of Chafe. 19 were fishermen and 13
were planters. The next largest family surname was Williams with 12.
In the 1870-71 McAlpine's
Directory, 19 out of 131 families were Chafe's (14%); 13 were planters, 3 were
fishermen and 2 were farmers.
There
are 29 Chaif family names in Canada; 13 Quebec, 5 BC, 10 Ontario; 1 in Arizona and one in the UK. This
variation appears to be related to the Chafe spelling of the surname in from
Newfoundland Canada. It is likely that this variation evolved in Quebec,
as the surname spelling reflected the French Canadian pronunciation of Chafe.
This break could have happened around 1873.
A study was made of 275
marriages of Chaffey's
from
1584 to 1837 in the Sherborne
area. The surnames all end
with a "y" or "ee" sound It was found that the
name distribution was Chaffey 56%, Chaffy 15%, Chafie 7%, Chafy 7%,
Chafey 6%, Chaffie 6%. They show a large number
of Chaffey's and Chaffy's from Sherborne, Holwell, Corfe Castle and Folke.
A map of the name distribution is located at this
link.
This is based on the work by Richard
Chaffey who's ancestor was Thomas Chaffey (d.1750).
The
third letter in the Phoenician
alphabet (c.900 BC), that represents the present letter "C",
is "ד". "ד", called gīmel,
represents the camel and evolved later into the
Latin "C" and "G". This same character was found in
the Greek (c.750 BC) and Etruscan (c.650 BC) alphabet. It evolved into
the Latin form ("C") around 500 BC. The Greeks renamed the
symbol gamma, pronouncing it as a cross between a hard "g" and a
French "r". The Etruscans changed the pronunciation from hard
"g" to hard "c", and wrote it as "C". The Romans
also used "C" and created a new letter to represent the hard
"g" by adding a flourish to the "C", giving "G".
In English, "C" is pronounced "k" or "c", and
"G" is pronounced as a hard "g" or soft "g".
Chaf
(or Kaf) is the English equivalent of the 11th letter in the Hebrew alphabet
(c.200 BC). It sounds like the words Loch Ness or Tutankhamon. It
is written like a reverse "C". The letter is formed with two
strokes of the pen. The roof and the first part of the foot are formed by the
first stroke (a horizontal stroke from the left to right which is brought
downward). A second such stroke, brought upward forms the base and the second
half of the foot to complete the letter. The Final Chaf (perhaps like our
upper case), written at the end of the word looks like an upside down
"L" or "ד" - very similar to the Phoenician symbol.
Note, Hebrew is written from right to left.
Chaff
in the Bible: the refuse of winnowed corn. It was usually burned (Exodus
15:7; Isaiah
5:24; Matthew
3:12). This word sometimes, however, means dried grass or hay (Isaiah
5:24; 33:11).
Chaff is used as a figure of abortive wickedness (Psalms
1:4; Matthew
3:12). False doctrines are also called chaff (Jeremiah
23:28), or more correctly rendered "chopped straw." The
destruction of the wicked, and their powerlessness, are likened to the
carrying away of chaff by the wind (Isaiah
17:13; Hosea
13:3; Zephaniah
2:2). Chaf (mar, "bitter"; hence, bitter of soul, deadly,
destructive, ferocious, "as a bear robbed of her whelps"): Occurs in
II Samuel 17:8; used by Hushai to characterize David's supposedly fierce mood
at the time of Absalom's armed rebellion. Found
in Job
21:18; Psalms
1:4; Psalms
35:5; Isaiah
17:13; Isaiah
29:5; Isaiah
41:15; Hosea
13:3; Zephaniah
2:2. Chashash, occurs in two verses (Isaiah
5:24 and Isaiah
33:11). Similar to "chashish," an Arabic word which, as commonly
used, denotes grass either standing or cut, green or dry, although, strictly
speaking, dry or cut grass alone. In the Revised Version (British and
American) Isaiah
5:24 the translation is "dry grass."
Tebhen, is translated "chaff" in the King James Version (Jeremiah
23:28). The same word is rendered "straw" in the Revised Version
(British and American) (compare Arabic tibn).
Old
English (Anglo Saxon) evolved c.1000. The alphabet and pronunciation
was heavily influenced by Germanic and Latin/Roman (spoken by clerics)
variations and to some degree, Celtic and Viking. Middle
English evolved between 1100 and 1500. "C" and "g" had
a set of variations: Before back vowels (a, o, and u), they were
pronounced like "c" in cat and "g" in guess; before front
vowels (y, i, e, and æ), they were pronounced like "ch" in chat and
"y" in yes. The same goes for "h": At the
beginning of a word, is is pronounced like our "h"; before back
vowels, it sounded like the "ch" in the German name Bach; before
front vowels, it sounded like the
"ch" in the German word ich.
Not
much is written on the internet on the reasons for the "ee",
"e", "ey" variations. The following is an analysis
on a Scottish surname
diminutive. Examination of records relating to Perth, Scotland shows that
different spellings of the name Cree were used at different period. Apart from
some periods of overlap, the spelling is by and large consistent within each
period. The earliest records found refer to John of Cre in 1459 and 1462. A
century later, we find Johne Cre, Richart Cre, Walter Cre and Patrick Cree
referred to in a document of 1547. Early deeds from 1570 to about 1610 use the
spelling CREY. These overlap with the development of the spelling CRIE which
lasted into the 19th Century. Again there is overlap as the modern version,
CREE, starts to emerge early in the Eighteenth Century. Cree probably always
pronounced the same. It is important to realize that these spelling variations
are not due to changes in the spoken version of the name, which probably
remained very
consistent over the whole period. They simply mark the changing
ways in which the sound which we now write as "ee" was written down.
This double "ee" combination did not exist before
about 1700, the
sound that it now represents being written as "ie" or "ei",
before that as "ey", and even earlier as "e". The name
Cree, however it was spelled, has probably always been pronounced as we
pronounce it today.
To
add further to the confusion
of the surname, one also has to look at the evolution of the letters
"f" and "s",
which depending on the particular time in history, was written quite
differently. Also differences evolved between the record on paper and
that engraved on stone. Very early graves which are written in Latin,
and the "f" and "s" were written either as 1. a capital
'S' as we would write it today, 2. a small 's' was very similar to an
"f" except if you looked closely the "f"' had a small
joined dash before the letter, 3. two small "s" together (such as
ness or less etc.) were written first one as in No. 2. and the second as we
would write it today. and 4. a small "f" was so very similar to a
small "s" as in No. 2 but with the dash write through the letter.
The position
of the "s" in the word or sentance is also important.
The
Soundex
code for the all major variants of the surname is C100. The "C" and
the 'F"
are the key consonants that derive
the code with "H", 'Y" and the vowels not adding to the
result. The Soundex code for Chaffin is C150, Chase is C200, Shase is S100.
Soundex converts a surname to a 4 digit code: the first letter of the name
followed by 3 numbers which represent letter sounds.
Using
the Metaphone
matching algorithm, Chaff/Chafe/Chaffee/Chaffey is coded as XF, Chaffin is XFN,
Chase is XS, Shase is XS. Metaphone converts a surname to a code of 16
possible consonant sounds.
Commonwealth
and US Family Members who died in WWI and WWII are shown in Table
7.
Though
likely unrelated to the Chafe surname, the
small church/village of Junta de Freguesia de Chafé
is located near the Atlantic coast
7km south of Viana do Castelo, Portugal (41.6515ºN
8.7996ºW), 59km north of Porto. The population in 2000 was 2490. Its coat
of arms contains three red arrows. Newfoundland and Portuguese
fishermen shared the same fishing grounds and visited each others harbours for
many years in the 1700's.
Over
550 Chafe's are registered on the Internet
Genealogy Service. A list of all the Chafe names from England gathered from this site can be found on this page.
From this website between 1479 and 1799 the following can be ascertained:
Last Name: Chaffe 23%, Chaffey 21%, Chafe 9%, Chaff 9%, Chaffy 7%,
Chaffin 6%, Chafy 6%, Chafey 5%, Other 10%.
First Name: John 12%, Mary 9%, Thomas 7%, William 6%, Elizabeth 5%,
Samuel 4%,
Richard 3%, Ann 3%, Robert 3%, Joan 3%, James 3% Margaret 2%, Other
37%.
Gender: Female 47%, Male 53%.
Event: Christening 43%, Marriage 30%, Death 2%.
Location: Buckfastleigh 18%, Holwell/Sherborne 10% (18 miles east of
Chard), Exeter 4%, Folke 4% (20 miles east of
Chard), Bishops Caundle 3% (20 miles east of Chard), Stoke Sub Hamdon 2% (10
miles northeast of Chard), London
2%, Martock 2%, Corfe Castle 2% (10 miles south of Poole), Widecombe In The Moor 1% (4 miles north of
Buckfastleigh), Berry Pomeroy 1% (7
miles east of Buckfastleigh), Ugborough 1% (8 miles south of Buckfastleigh).
Spelling: Table 4 shows that the Chafe (spoken with a silent
"e") surname spelling is far more prevalent west of Chaffcombe in
Devon (92%). The Chaffee (spoken with a long "e") surname is far more
prevalent east of Chaffcombe in Dorset and Somerset (97%).
NOT RELATED TO THE CHAFFE/CHAFFEE/CHAFE
SURNAME
The Chafarinas or
Zapparines are a group of islands belonging
to Spain off the north coast of
Morocco, near the Algerian frontier, 2½ miles to the north of Cape del Agna,
3.5 km (2.17 mi) off the Moroccan town of Ra'su l-Ma' (35.1835ºN
2.4349ºW).
The largest of these isles, Del
Congreso, is rocky and hilly. The largest of these isles, Del
Congreso, is rocky and hilly. It has a watchhouse on the coast nearest to
Morocco. Isabella II, the central island, contains several batteries, barracks
and a penal convict settlement. The third island is Isla del Rey. The Chafarinas
were known to the Romans as Tres Insulac and to the Arabs as Zaf Ran.
They were occupied by
Spain in 1847, a few days before the a French
expedition was sent from Oran to annex the islands to Algeria. The population
of the islands is under 1000. They form the best anchorage along the
Moroccan Mediterranean coast.
The
Chase
(Chace) surname is
likely not related to
the Chafe surname. Families from the Buckinghamshire area of
England immigrated to the US around 1638. That said, the use of long
form of "s" that was written like an "f" without the
horizontal bar
could have lead to confusion between the surnames. This designation
fell out of fashion with printers about 1780.
Chaff
is a defensive counter measure used on aircraft to confuse radar and heat
seeking missiles. Chaff is made of glass silicate fibers with an aluminum
coating. The fibers are approximately 60% glass fiber and 40% aluminum by
weight. The typical US Air Force RR-188 chaff bundle contains about 150 g of
chaff or about 5 million fibers. The fibres are 25 microns in diameter and
typically 1 to 2 cm in length. In 1997, the Air Force used about
1.8 million
bundles worldwide. A chaff cutter dispensing system provides the electronic
warfare operator with the option of selecting, while in flight, various tuned
dipole lengths to meet changing threats in frequency ranges from A- to K-band.
The
Chaffinch (Fringilla coelebs), the common English name of a bird belonging to
the family Fringillidae, and distinguished in the male sex, by the deep
greyish blue of its crown feathers, the yellowish green of its rump, the white
of the wing coverts, so disposed as to form two conspicuous bars, and the
reddish brown passing into vinous red of the throat and breast. On the
continent of Europe the chaffinch is a favourite song-bird, especially in
Germany, where great attention is paid to its training. It is the UK’s
second most common breeding bird. The species was named by Linnaeus (one
of the fathers of modern ecology) in his home country of Sweden. The Eurasian
Chiffchaff warbler (Phylloscopus collybita) is widespread
and numerous in most of Europe in summer, confined
to southwest Europe in winter
and ranges as far as Siberia
and northern Iran. It prefers wooded areas and is can be identified by
its characteristic "chiff-chaff, chiff-chaff, chiff-chaff" song.
A Chafing Dish has two pans, the lower pan for holding hot water or a
fuel, the upper pan with long handle for holding food to be cooked.
Chaff is an
algorithm for solving instances of the boolean
satisfiability (SAT) problem. It was designed by researchers at Princeton
University. Some available implementations of the algorithm in software are
mChaff and zChaff, the latter one being the most widely known and used.
A Chafe Kit is a protective leather sheathing
used by sailors to cover mooring lines and reduce the wear on the rope.
CHAFE-PRO is a
liner designed to be a cost effective means for preventing abrasion to
nylon, Kevlar, Spectra, and polyester marine lines.
Chafewax
or Chaff-wax
- An officer in chancery who fits the wax for sealing, to the writs,
commissions and other instruments then made to be issued out. He is
probably so called because he warms (chaufe) the wax.
In
Australia youth slang, to chafe is to suck up or brown nose to someone.
Chaffhaye
is a special horse feed that the Queen of England had developed and was patented to feed her horses.
Chaffweed
- (Centunculus minimus L.) Also known as False
Pimpernel. Family Primulaceae. Chaffweed
is a perennial which reproduces by seeds and thick, deep seated, woody
vertical roots. The stems are prostrate or drooping on the ground,
forming mats 1/2 to 2 feet in diameter. The small
whitish flowers are in
dense clusters around the stem at the base of the leaves. The rounded
seeds are light reddish brown and shining. A native of tropical America,
chaffweed has become one of the most pernicious pests in the US south.
Found also along roadsides, city streets, gardens, and cultivated
fields; up to 5,500 feet elevation; flowering June to November. Chaffweed
has very similar stems and leaves to the Scarlet Pimpernel, but the
flowers are much smaller (1 to 3 mm) and have white petals.
A
chaff
cutter was used to cut up straw for animal feed and bedding. It was
powered by a stationary steam engine.
Chafe,
Zamfara State, Nigeria, is located 25 miles southeast of the state capital Gasau in upper-central
Nigeria (11.953ºN
6.9221ºE). The name is likely Islamic and historically tied
to the Hausa tribe.
The Chafe surname exists in Nigeria and is used by a
number of politicians, doctors and researchers. The population in
2004 was 10,100. There is a crater on
Mars named after Chafe, Nigeria. It was designated in 1988 and is located at
15.3ºN 257.7ºW, Amenthes
Region, Quadrangle MC14.
The crater is 4.8 kilometres in diameter.
|
 Shakespeare's
Twenty Plays Where the Word "Chafe" is Mentioned (1591-1613)
Using the Original
Spelling in the Published Versions
|
King Henry VI, Part ii,
1591
Act 3, Scene 2, KING HENRY VI
For iudgement onely doth belong to thee:
Faine would I go to chafe his palie lips,
With twenty thousand kisses, and to draine
King Henry VI, Part iii,
1591
Act 2, Scene 5, PRINCE EDWARD
Fly Father, flye: for all your Friends are fled.
And Warwicke rages like a chafed Bull:
Away, for death doth hold vs in pursuite.
Venus and Adonis,
1593
Stanza 53
All swolne with chafing, downe Adonis sits,
Banning his boystrous, and vnruly beast;
And now the happie season once more fits
Stanza 78,
He wrings her nose, he strikes her on the cheekes,
He bends her fingers, holds her pulses hard,
He chafes her lips, a thousand wayes he seekes,
Stanza 109
And more then so, presenteth to mine eye,
The picture of an angrie chafing boare,
Vnder whose sharpe fangs, on his backe doth lye,
Titus Andronicus, 1594
Ac t 4, Scene 2, AARON
Why so braue Lords, when we ioyne in league
I am a Lambe: but if you braue the Moore,
The chafed Bore, the mountaine Lyonesse,
The Ocean swells not so as Aaron stormes:
The Taming of the Shrew,
1594
Act 1, Scene 2, PETRUCHIO
Haue I not in my time heard Lions rore?
Haue I not heard the sea, puft vp with windes,
Rage like an angry Boare, chafed with sweat?
Haue I not heard great Ordnance in the field?
Act 2, Scene 1, KATHARINA:
I chafe you if I tarrie. Let me go.
The Two Gentlemen of Verona,
1595
Act 3, Scene 1, PROTEUS
But Valentine, if he be tane, must die.
Besides, her intercession chaf'd him so,
When she for thy repeale was suppliant,
King John, 1597
Act 3, Scene 1, CARDINAL PANDULPH
France, thou mayst hold a serpent by the tongue,
A chafed lion by the mortal paw,
A fasting tiger safer by the tooth, |
Julius
Caesar, 1600
Act 1, Scene 2, CASSIUS
I was borne free as Caesar, so were you,
We both haue fed as well, and we can both
Endure the Winters cold, as well as hee.
For once, vpon a Rawe and Gustie day,
The troubled Tyber, chafing with her Shores,
The Merry Wives of Windsor,
1601
Act 5, Scene 3, MISTRESS PAGE
Fare you well (Sir:) my husband will not reioyce
so much at the abuse of Falstaffe, as he will chafe
at the Doctors marrying my daughter:
(Quarto) 4.6, FORD
I faith M. Page neuer chafe your selfe,
She hath made her choise wheras her hart was fixt,
The History of Thomas Lord Cromwell,
1602
(may not have been written by Shakespeare)
Folio 3.2, BEDFORD
As Cicero the famous man of Rome,
His words would be as chaffe against the wind.
Sweet tongu'd Ulisses, that made Ajax mad,
Were he and his tongue in this speaker's head,
Troilus and Cressida,
1602
Prologue, CHORUS
In Troy there lyes the Scene: From Iles of Greece
The Princes Orgillous, their high blood chaf'd
Haue to the Port of Athens sent their shippes
Fraught with the ministers and instruments of cruell Warre
Act 1, Scene 2, PANDARUS
Iupiter quoth shee, which of these heires is Paris my husband?
the forked one quoth he, pluckt out and giue it him:
but there was such laughing, and Hellen so blusht,
and Paris so chaf't, and all the rest so laught
that it past.
Act 4, Scene 5, AJAX
Do not chafe thee cozen.
And you Achilles, let these threats alone,
Till accident or purpose bring you too't,
You may haue euery day enough of Hector,
Othello, The Moor of Venice,
1605
Act 2, Scene 1, SECOND MAN
I neuer did like mollestation view
On the enchafed Flood.
King Lear, 1606
Act 4, Scene 6, EDGAR
Almost too small for sight. The murmuring Surge,
That on th' vnnumbred idle Pebble chafes
Cannot be heard so high. Ile looke no more, |
Macbeth,
1606
Act 4, Scene 1, THIRD APPARITION
Be Lyon metled, proud, and take no care:
Who chafes, who frets, or where Conspirers are:
Macbeth shall neuer vanquish'd be,
Antony and Cleopatra,
1607
Act 1, Scene 3, CLEOPATRA
And Target. Still he mends.
But this is not the best. Looke prythee Charmian,
How this Herculean Roman do's become
The carriage of his chafe.
Timon
of Athens, 1608
Act 1, Scene 1, POET
Shows not till it be struck; our gentle flame
Provokes itself and like the current flies
Each bound it chafes. What have you there?
Coriolanus,
1608
Act 3, Scene 3, BRUTUS
Go about it,
Put him to Choller straite, he hath bene vs'd
Euer to conquer, and to haue his worth
Of contradiction. Being once chaft, he cannot
Be rein'd againe to Temperance, then he speakes
Cymbeline,
1610
Act 4, Scene 2, BELARIUS
As Zephires blowing below the Violet,
Not wagging his sweet head; and yet, as rough
(Their Royall blood enchaf'd) as the rud'st winde,
The Winter's Tale,
1611
Act 3, Scene 3, CLOWN
I would you did but see how it chafes, how it rages,
how it takes vp the shore, but that's not to the point:
Oh, the most pitteous cry of the poore soules,
King Henry VIII,
1613
Act 1, Scene 1, NORFOLK
What are you chaff'd?
Aske God for Temp'rance, that's th' appliance onely
Which your disease requires.
Act 3, Scene 2, CARDINAL WOLSEY
What should this meane?
What sodaine Anger's this? How haue I reap'd it?
He parted Frowning from me, as if Ruine
Leap'd from his Eyes. So lookes the chafed Lyon |
Note:
- In total, chafed is mentioned 10 times, chafe 7 times, chafes
5 times, chafing 3 times and enchafed 2 times
- In his 38 plays, Shakespeare used a vocabulary of 17,000 different
words, 3,000 of these he introduced new to the English language. On
average, a well educated person knows 4,200 different words. |
DICTIONARY
DEFINITIONS
Chafe
Noun
1. Chafe - soreness and warmth caused by friction; "he had a nasty chafe
on his knee".
Soreness, tenderness - a pain that is felt when the area is touched.
2. chafe - anger produced by some annoying irritation.
Vexation, annoyance.
Anger, ire, choler - a strong emotion; a feeling that is oriented toward some
real or supposed grievance.
Temper, irritation, pique - a sudden outburst of anger; "his temper
sparked like damp firewood".
Frustration - a feeling of annoyance at being hindered or criticized;
"her constant complaints were the main source of his frustration"
Aggravation, exasperation - an exasperated feeling of annoyance.
Harassment, torment - a feeling of intense annoyance caused by being
tormented; "so great was his harassment that he wanted to destroy his
tormentors".
Displeasure - the feeling of being displeased or annoyed or dissatisfied with
someone or something.
Verb
1. Chafe - become or make sore by or as if by rubbing.
Gall, fret.
Irritate - excite to an abnormal condition, of chafe or inflame; "Aspirin
irritates my stomach".
2. Chafe - feel extreme irritation or anger; "He was chafing at her
suggestion that he stay at home while she went on a vacation".
Feel, experience - undergo an emotional sensation; "She felt
resentful"; "He felt regret".
Annoy, devil, gravel, irritate, nark, rile, vex, nettle, rag, bother, chafe,
get at, get to - cause annoyance in; disturb, especially by minor irritations;
"Mosquitoes buzzing in my ear really bothers me"; "It irritates
me that she never closes the door after she leaves".
3. Chafe - cause annoyance in; disturb, especially by minor irritations;
"Mosquitoes buzzing in my ear really bothers me"; "It irritates
me that she never closes the door after she leaves".
Annoy, devil, gravel, irritate, nark, rile, vex, nettle, rag, bother, get at,
get to,
get under one's skin, get - irritate; "Her childish behaviour really get
to me"; "His lying really gets me".
Eat into, rankle, grate, fret - gnaw into; make resentful or angry; "The
unjustice rankled her"; "his resentment festered".
Chafe - feel extreme irritation or anger; "He was chafing at her
suggestion that he stay at home while she went on a vacation".
Peeve - cause to be annoyed, irritated, or resentful.
Ruffle - trouble or vex; "ruffle somebody's composure".
Fret - cause annoyance in.
Beset, chevvy, chevy, chivvy, chivy, harass, harry, hassle, molest, plague,
provoke - annoy continually or chronically; "He is known to harry his
staff when he is overworked"; "This man harasses his female
co-workers".
Antagonize, antagonize - provoke the hostility of; "Don't antagonize your
boss".
Displease - give displeasure to.
4. Chafe - tear or wear off the skin or make sore by abrading; "This
leash chafes the dog's neck".
Excoriate.
Abrade, abrase, corrade, rub down, rub off - wear away.
5. Chafe - cause friction; "my sweater scratches".
Scratch, rub, fray, fret.
Adjoin, contact, touch, meet - be in direct physical contact with; make
contact; "The two buildings touch"; "Their hands touched";
"The wire must not contact the metal cover"; "The surfaces
contact at this point".
6. Chafe - warm by rubbing, as with the hands.
Warm - make warm or warmer; "The blanket will warm you".
Chaff
Noun
1. Chaff - material consisting of seed coverings and small pieces of stem or
leaves that have been separated from the seeds.
Husk, shuck, stalk, stubble, straw.
Bran - broken husks of the seeds of cereal grains that are separated from the
flour by sifting.
Plant material - material derived from plants 2. chaff - foil in thin strips;
ejected into the air as a radar countermeasure.
Foil - a piece of thin and flexible sheet metal; "the photographic film
was wrapped in foil" Verb 1. chaff - be silly or tease one another;
"After we relaxed, we just kidded around"
Banter, jolly, josh, kid.
Bait, tantalise, tantalize, taunt, razz, twit, tease, cod, rag, rally, ride -
harass with persistent criticism or carping; "The children teased the new
teacher"; "Don't ride me so hard over my failure"; "His
fellow workers razzed him when he wore a jacket and tie".
Chaffy
Adj.
1.Chaffy - abounding in or covered with or resembling or consisting of chaff.
2. Chaffy - of no value; "an empty chaffy book by a foolish chaffy
fellow".
Worthless - lacking in excellence or value; "a worthless idler".
Chaffer
Verb
1. Chaffer - wrangle (over a price, terms of an agreement, etc.); "Let's
not haggle over a few dollars",
haggle, higgle, huckster.
Bargain down, beat down - persuade the seller to accept a lower price;
"She beat the merchant down $100".
Bargain, dicker - negotiate the terms of an exchange; "We bargained for a
beautiful rug in the bazaar" .
2. Chaffer - talk socially without exchanging too much information; "the
men were sitting in the cafe and shooting the breeze",
chew the fat, chitchat, claver, confab, jaw, natter, Shoot the breeze, chat,
confabulate, gossip, chatter, visit.
Converse, discourse - carry on a conversation.
Jawbone, schmoose, schmooze, shmoose, shmooze - talk idly or casually and in a
friendly way.
Easton's Bible Dictionary (1897):
Chaff the refuse of winnowed corn. It
was usually burned (Ex. 15:7; Isa. 5:24; Matt. 3:12). This word sometimes,
however, means dried grass or hay (Isa. 5:24; 33:11). Chaff is used as a
figure of abortive wickedness (Ps. 1:4; Matt. 3:12). False doctrines are also
called chaff (Jer. 23:28), or more correctly rendered "chopped
straw." The destruction of the wicked, and their powerlessness, are
likened to the carrying away of chaff by the wind (Isa. 17:13; Hos. 13:3; Zeph.
2:2).
