cham

n. [ See Khan. ] The sovereign prince of Tartary; -- now usually written khan. Shak. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ F. chamade, fr. Pg. chamada, fr. chamar to call, fr. L. clamare. ] (Mil.) A signal made for a parley by beat of a drum. [ 1913 Webster ]

They beat the chamade, and sent us carte blanche. Addison. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. a genus of small late-flowering trees or subshrubs having yellow to red flowers and leathery or woody pods; -- often used especially for those formerly included in genus Cytisus.
Syn. -- genus Chamaecytisus. [ WordNet 1.5 ]

n. a genus consisting of only one species, the leatherleaf.
Syn. -- genus Chamaedaphne. [ WordNet 1.5 ]

n. the type genus of the Chamaeleontidae.
Syn. -- genus Chamaeleo, genus Chamaeleon. [ WordNet 1.5 ]

n. (Astronomy) a small constellation in the southern skies between Hydrus and Musca.
Syn. -- Chameleon. [ PJC ]

n. [ L. Chamaeleon, Gr. chamaile`wn, lit., “ground lion;” chamai` on the ground + le`wn lion. ] (Zool.) a lizard of Africa and Madagascar able to change skin color and having a projectile tongue.
Syn. -- chameleon. [ WordNet 1.5 ]

n. a natural family comprising the Old World chameleons; in some classifications Rhiptoglossa is considered a superfamily of Sauria.
Syn. -- family Chamaeleontidae, family Chamaeleonidae, Rhiptoglossa, family Rhiptoglossa. [ WordNet 1.5 ]