charade English · revision 1594

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: /ʃəˈɹɑːd/, /ʃəˈɹeɪd/^(Wiktionary)

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+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[bor|fr|charade]],^(AHD)^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline)^(MW Collegiate)^(RHWU) probably [[der|oc|charrado|t=chat, chatter]],^(AHD)^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline)^(MW Collegiate)^(RHWU) from ''charrá'' “to chat”,^(Barnhart 1995)^(MW Collegiate)^(RHWU) which is of imitative origin.^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline)^(RHWU) The American Heritage Dictionary suggests a link with Italian ''ciarlare'' “to chatter”.^(AHD)^(Etymonline)

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+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ A riddle in which each syllable of a word, and then the whole word, is described enigmatically (1776).^(OED 1989)^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline)^(MW Collegiate)

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+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ The charade began as verse word-play, a near relation of the [[rebus]].^(Etymonline)^(MW Collegiate) It was later acted out in pantomime, giving the parlour game of charades,^(RHWU)^(AHD) and from that came the sense of an obvious pretence or travesty.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)^(RHWU)

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+ ==Timeline==

+ * 1776 – a word riddle.^(OED 1989)^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline)^(MW Collegiate)

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+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Noun===

+ # ''(often plural)'' A game in which players act out a word or phrase in [[pantomime]] for others to guess.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)^(RHWU)^(Wiktionary)

+ # A word or phrase acted out in this game, or described in a riddle.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)^(RHWU)^(Wiktionary)

+ # An obvious [[pretense]]; a [[travesty]].^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)^(RHWU)^(Wiktionary)

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+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}