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cha·rade

(shə-rād)

1. Games

a. charades (used with a sing. or pl. verb) A game in which words or phrases are represented in pantomime, sometimes syllable by syllable, until they are guessed by the other players.

b. An episode in this game or a word or phrase so represented.

2. A readily perceived pretense; a travesty: went through the charade of a public apology.

[French, probably from Provençal charrado, chat, from charra, to chat, chatter, perhaps from Italian ciarlare.]

Indo-European & Semitic Roots Appendices

Thousands of entries in the dictionary include etymologies that trace their origins back to reconstructed proto-languages. You can obtain more information about these forms in our online appendices:

Indo-European Roots

Semitic Roots

The Indo-European appendix covers nearly half of the Indo-European roots that have left their mark on English words. A more complete treatment of Indo-European roots and the English words derived from them is available in our Dictionary of Indo-European Roots.

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