CHAR-WOMAN, noun A woman hired for odd work, or for single days. [Char-man and char-woman are, I believe, not used in America.] CHAR, verb transitive 1. To burn or reduce to coal or carbon; to reduce to charcoal, by expelling all volatile matter from wood. This is done by burning wood slowly under a covering of turf and earth. 2. To expel all volatile matter from stone or earth, by heat. The stone or earth charred from all foreign visible ingredients.
Source: Webster's 1828 American Dictionary ↗ · public-domain · returned verbatim, no AI