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Webster 1913 Edition

Change

Change

(chānj)
,
Verb.
T.
[
imp. & p. p.
Changed
(chānjd)
;
p. pr. & vb. n.
Changing
.]
[F.
changer
, fr. LL.
cambiare
, to exchange, barter, L.
cambire
. Cf.
Cambial
.]
1.
To alter; to make different; to cause to pass from one state to another;
as, to
change
the position, character, or appearance of a thing; to
change
the countenance
.
Therefore will I
change
their glory into shame.
Hosea. iv. 7.
2.
To alter by substituting something else for, or by giving up for something else;
as, to
change
the clothes; to
change
one’s occupation; to
change
one's intention
.
They that do
change
old love for new,
Pray gods, they change for worse!
Peele.
3.
To give and take reciprocally; to exchange; – followed by with;
as, to
change
place, or hats, or money, with another
.
Look upon those thousands with whom thou wouldst not, for any interest,
change
thy fortune and condition.
Jer. Taylor.
4.
Specifically: To give, or receive, smaller denominations of money (technically called change) for;
as, to
change
a gold coin or a bank bill
.
He pulled out a thirty-pound note and bid me
change
it.
Goldsmith.
Syn. – To alter; vary; deviate; substitute; innovate; diversify; shift; veer; turn. See
Alter
.

Change

,
Verb.
I.
1.
To be altered; to undergo variation;
as, men sometimes
change
for the better
.
For I am Lord, I
change
not.
Mal. iii. 6.
2.
To pass from one phase to another;
as, the moon
changes
to-morrow night
.

Change

,
Noun.
[F.
change
, fr.
changer
. See
Change
.
Verb.
T.
]
1.
Any variation or alteration; a passing from one state or form to another;
as, a
change
of countenance; a
change
of habits or principles
.
Apprehensions of a
change
of dynasty.
Hallam.
All the days of my appointed time will I wait, till my
change
come.
Job xiv. 14.
2.
A succesion or substitution of one thing in the place of another; a difference; novelty; variety;
as, a
change
of seasons
.
Our fathers did for
change
to France repair.
Dryden.
The ringing grooves of
change
.
Tennyson.
3.
A passing from one phase to another;
as, a
change
of the moon
.
4.
Alteration in the order of a series; permutation.
5.
That which makes a variety, or may be substituted for another.
Thirty
change
(R.V.
changes
) of garments.
Judg. xiv. 12.
6.
Small money; the money by means of which the larger coins and bank bills are made available in small dealings; hence, the balance returned when payment is tendered by a coin or note exceeding the sum due.
7.
[See
Exchange
.]
A place where merchants and others meet to transact business; a building appropriated for mercantile transactions.
[Colloq. for Exchange.]
8.
A public house; an alehouse.
[Scot.]
They call an alehouse a
change
.
Burt.
9.
(Mus.)
Any order in which a number of bells are struck, other than that of the diatonic scale.
Four bells admit twenty-four
changes
in ringing.
Holder.
Syn. – Variety; variation; alteration; mutation; transition; vicissitude; innovation; novelty; transmutation; revolution; reverse.

Webster 1828 Edition

Change

CHANGE

, v.t.
1.
To cause to turn or pass from one state to another; to alter, or make different; to vary in external form, or in essence; as, to change the color or shape of a thing; to change the countenance; to change the heart or life.
2.
To put one thing in the place of another; to shift; as, to change the clothes
Be clean and change your garments. Gen. 35.
3.
To quit one thing or state for another; followed by for; as, persons educated in a particular religion do not readily change it for another.
4.
To give and take reciprocally; as, will you change conditions with me?
5.
To barter; to exchange goods; as, to change a coach for a chariot.
6.
To quit, as one place for another; as, to change lodgings.
7.
To give one kind of money for another; to alter the form or kind of money, by receiving the value in a different kind, as to change bank notes for silver; or to give pieces of a larger denomination for an equivalent in pieces of smaller denomination, as to change an eagle for dollars, or a sovereign for sixpences, or to change a dollar into cents; or on the other hand, to change dollars for or into eagles, giving money of smaller denomination for larger.
8.
To become acid or tainted; to turn from a natural state of sweetness and purity; as, the wine is changed; thunder and lightning are said to change milk.
To change a horse, or to change hand, is to turn or bear the horses head from one hand to the other, from the left to the right, or from the right to the left.

CHANGE

,
Verb.
I.
1.
To be altered; to undergo variation; as, men sometimes change for the better, often for the worse.
I am Jehovah; I change not. Mal. 3.
2.
To pass the sun, as the moon in its orbit; as, the moon will change the 14th of this month.

CHANGE

,
Noun.
1.
Any variation or alteration in form, state, quality, or essence; or a passing from one state or form to another; as a change of countenance; a change of habits or principles.
2.
A succession of one thing in the place of another; vicissitude; as a change of seasons; a change of objects on a journey; a change of scenes.
3.
A revolution; as a change of government.
4.
A passing by the sun, and the beginning of a new monthly revolution; as a change of the moon.
5.
A different state by removal; novelty; variety.
Our fathers did, for change, to France repair.
6.
Alteration in the order of ringing bells; variety of sounds.
Four bells admit twenty-four changes in ringing.
7.
That which makes a variety, or may be substituted for another.
Thirty changes of raiment. Judges 14.
8.
Small coins of money, which may be given for larger pieces.
9.
The balance of money paid beyond the price of goods purchased.
I give the clerk a bank note for his cloth, and he gave me the change.
10.
The dissolution of the body; death.
All the days of my appointed time will I wait, till my change come. Job 14.
11.
Change for exchange, a place where merchants and others meet to transact business; a building appropriated for mercantile transactions.
12.
In arithmetic, permutation; variation of numbers. Thirteen numbers admit of 6,227, 020, 800 changes, or different positions.

Definition 2024

change

change

See also: changé, chànge, and Cháng'é

English

Verb

change ‎(third-person singular simple present changes, present participle changing, simple past and past participle changed)

  1. (intransitive) To become something different.
    The tadpole changed into a frog.   Stock prices are constantly changing.‎
  2. (transitive, ergative) To make something into something different.
    • 2013 May 11, “The climate of Tibet: Pole-land”, in The Economist, volume 407, number 8835, page 80:
      Of all the transitions brought about on the Earth’s surface by temperature change, the melting of ice into water is the starkest. It is binary. And for the land beneath, the air above and the life around, it changes everything.
    • 2013 July-August, Catherine Clabby, “Focus on Everything”, in American Scientist:
      Not long ago, it was difficult to produce photographs of tiny creatures with every part in focus. […] A photo processing technique called focus stacking has changed that. Developed as a tool to electronically combine the sharpest bits of multiple digital images, focus stacking is a boon to biologists seeking full focus on a micron scale.
    The fairy changed the frog into a prince.   I had to change the wording of the ad so it would fit.‎
  3. (transitive) To replace.
    Ask the janitor to come and change the lightbulb.   After a brisk walk, I washed up and changed my shirt.‎
  4. (intransitive) To replace one's clothing.
    You can't go into the dressing room while she's changing.   The clowns changed into their costumes before the circus started.‎
  5. (intransitive) To transfer to another vehicle (train, bus, etc.)
  6. (archaic) To exchange.
    • 1610, The Tempest, by William Shakespeare, act 1 scene 2
      At the first sight / they have changed eyes. (exchanged looks)
    • 1662 Thomas Salusbury, Galileo's Dialogue Concerning the Two Chief World Systems (Dialogue 2):
      I would give any thing to change a word or two with this person.
  7. (transitive) To change hand while riding (a horse).
    to change a horse

Synonyms

  • (to make something different): alter, modify
  • (to make something into something different): transform

Derived terms

Translations

Noun

change ‎(plural changes)

Loose change
  1. (countable) The process of becoming different.
    • 2013 May 11, “The climate of Tibet: Pole-land”, in The Economist, volume 407, number 8835, page 80:
      Of all the transitions brought about on the Earth’s surface by temperature change, the melting of ice into water is the starkest. It is binary. And for the land beneath, the air above and the life around, it changes everything.
    The product is undergoing a change in order to improve it.
  2. (uncountable) Small denominations of money given in exchange for a larger denomination.
    Can I get change for this $100 bill please?
  3. (countable) A replacement, e.g. a change of clothes
    • 2010 December 29, Mark Vesty, “Wigan 2 - 2 Arsenal”, in BBC:
      After beating champions Chelsea 3-1 on Boxing Day, Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger made eight changes to his starting XI in an effort to freshen things up, with games against Birmingham and Manchester City to come in the next seven days.
  4. (uncountable) Money given back when a customer hands over more than the exact price of an item.
    A customer who pays with a 10-pound note for a £9 item receives one pound in change.
  5. (uncountable) Coins (as opposed to paper money).
    Do you have any change on you? I need to make a phone call.
  6. (countable) A transfer between vehicles.
    The train journey from Bristol to Nottingham includes a change at Birmingham.
  7. (baseball) A change-up pitch.
  8. (campanology) Any order in which a number of bells are struck, other than that of the diatonic scale.
    • Holder
      Four bells admit twenty-four changes in ringing.
  9. (dated) A place where merchants and others meet to transact business; an exchange.
  10. (Scotland, dated) A public house; an alehouse.
    • Burt
      They call an alehouse a change.

Usage notes

  • Adjectives often applied to "change": big, small, major, minor, dramatic, drastic, rapid, slow, gradual, radical, evolutionary, revolutionary, abrupt, sudden, unexpected, incremental, social, economic, organizational, technological, personal, cultural, political, technical, environmental, institutional, educational, genetic, physical, chemical, industrial, geological, global, local, good, bad, positive, negative, significant, important, structural, strategic, tactical.

Synonyms

Related terms

Derived terms

Translations

See also

References

Statistics

Most common English words before 1923: entered · none · river · #507: change · happy · hours · clear

French

Etymology

Deverbal from changer (corresponding to Old French change). Compare Medieval and Late Latin cambium.

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /ʃɑ̃ʒ/

Noun

change m ‎(plural changes)

  1. exchange

Verb

change

  1. first-person singular present indicative of changer
  2. third-person singular present indicative of changer
  3. first-person singular present subjunctive of changer
  4. third-person singular present subjunctive of changer
  5. second-person singular imperative of changer

Related terms

Norman

Alternative forms

Etymology

Borrowing from French change and English change.

Noun

change m ‎(plural changes)

  1. (Jersey) change
  2. (Jersey, money) exchange rate

Old French

Alternative forms

Etymology

Deverbal of changier.

Noun

change m ‎(oblique plural changes, nominative singular changes, nominative plural change)

  1. change (difference between one state and another)
  2. exchange
    • late 12th century, anonymous, La Folie de Tristan d'Oxford, page 368 (of the Champion Classiques edition of Le Roman de Tristan, ISBN 2-7453-0520-4), line 289:
      Fesum bargaine, fesum change
      Let's make a bargain, let's make an exchange

Descendants

Etymology

From Middle English changen, chaungen, from Old French chaunger, from Old French changier (compare French changer), from Late Latin cambiāre, from Latin cambīre, present active infinitive of cambiō ‎(“exchange, barter”), from Gaulish cambion, *kambyom ‎(“change”), from Proto-Celtic *kambos ‎(“twisted, crooked”), from Proto-Indo-European *(s)ḱambos, *(s)kambos ‎(“crooked”). Cognate with Italian cambiare, Portuguese cambiar, Romanian schimba, Spanish cambiar. Used in English since the 13th century.

The noun is from Middle English change, chaunge, from Anglo-Norman chaunge, from Old French change, from the verb changier. See also exchange. Possibly related from the same source is Old English gombe.

Pronunciation

  • enPR: chānj, IPA(key): /tʃeɪndʒ/
  • Rhymes: -eɪndʒ

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