American Dictionary of the English Language

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.