Etymology From Middle English chaufour, chafour, from Anglo-Norman chaufour, from Latin calefactōrium; equivalent to chafe + -er.
1
One who chafes.
2
A vessel for heating water; hence, a dish or pan.
A chafer of water to cool the ends of the irons.1643, Richard Baker, Chronicle of the Kings of England from the Time of the Romans' Government unto the Death of King James:
3
A vessel for holding burning coals or hot water used as a warmer.
Enter Mephoſtophilis with the Chafer of fire. / Meph. See Fauſtus here is fire, ſet it on.1589–1592 (date written), Ch[ristopher] Mar[lowe], The Tragicall Historie of the Life and Death of Doctor Faustus. […], London: […] Iohn Wright, […], published 1616 (1631 reprint), →OCLC, page [21]:
chafer
noun
Etymology From Middle English chafur, chavere, from Old English ċeafor, from Proto-West Germanic *kefrō (“beetle”). Cognate with German Käfer and Dutch kever.
1
Any of several scarab beetles, including the cockchafer, leaf chafer, and rose chafer.
He who torments the Chafers sprite Weaves a Bower in endleſs Nightc. 1803, William Blake, “Auguries of Innocence” in the Pickering Manuscript