Chef, shef, n. a master-cook; a reliquary in the shape of a head.—adj. chief, as in Chef d'œuvre, masterpiece, [Fr. See Chief.]
Cheiromancy, kī′ro-man-si, n. the art of telling fortunes by the lineaments of the hand—also Cheiros′ophy.—adj. Cheirosoph′ical.—n. Cheiros′ophist, [Gr. cheir, the hand, manteia, prophecy.]
Cheiroptera, kī-rop′tėr-a, n.pl. the order of Bats.—adj. Cheirop′terous. [Gr. cheir, the hand, pteron, a wing.]
Cheirotherium, kī-ro-thēr′i-um, n. the name originally given to the Labyrinthodont, from its peculiar hand-like impressions in the Triassic rocks.—adj. Cheirothē′rian. [Gr. cheir, hand, thērion, beast.]
Chela, kē′la, n. the prehensile claw of a crab or scorpion.—adj. Chē′late.—n. Chē′lifer, the book-scorpion.—adjs. Chelif′erous; Chē′liform. [L.,—Gr. chēlē.]
Chela, chē′la, n. a novice in esoteric Buddhism.—n. Chē′laship. [Hind. chēlā, servant.]
Chelicera, kēl-is′er-a, n. a technical term, usually restricted to the biting organs which form the first pair of appendages in spiders, scorpions, and other Arachnida:—pl. Chelic′eræ (-rē). [Gr. chēlē, a crab's claw, keras, horn.]
Chelonia, ke-lō′ni-a, n. an order of vertebrate animals including the tortoise and turtle.—adj. and n. Chelō′nian. [Gr. chelōnē, a tortoise.]
Chemise, she-mēz′, n. a woman's shirt or sark, a smock or shift.—n. Chemisette′, a kind of bodice worn by women, the lace or muslin which fills up the open front of a woman's dress. [Fr. chemise—Low L. camisia, a nightgown, surplice.]
Chemistry, kem′is-tri, formerly Chym′istry, n. the science which treats of the properties of substances both elementary and compound, and of the laws of their combination and action one upon another.—adjs. Chem′ic, -al (Chem′ico-, in many compound words), Chemiat′ric (a Paracelsian term, Gr. chēmeia, chemistry, iatreia, medical treatment).—adv. Chem′ically.—n.pl. Chem′icals, substances which form the subject of chemical effects.—ns. Chem′ism, chemical action; Chem′ist, one skilled in chemistry, specially a druggist or apothecary.—Chemical affinity, the name given to the tendency to combine with one another which is exhibited by many substances, or to the force by which the substances constituting a compound are held together; Chemical notation, a method of expressing the composition of chemical substances and representing chemical changes, by certain known symbols and formulæ; Chemical works, manufactories where chemical processes are carried on for trade, as alkali works, &c. [From Alchemy (q.v.).]