chamade

[ shuh-mahd ]

noun

, Military Archaic.

1. a signal by drum or trumpet inviting an enemy to a parley.

chamade

/ ʃəˈmɑːd /

noun

1. military (formerly) a signal by drum or trumpet inviting an enemy to a parley

Word History and Origins

Origin of chamade¹

1675–85; < French < Portuguese chamada, equivalent to cham ( ar ) to sound (< Latin clamāre to shout; claim ) + -ada -ade ¹

Word History and Origins

Origin of chamade¹

C17: from French, from Portuguese chamada, from chamar to call, from Latin clamāre

Example Sentences

What intense pleasure swimming in his eye as he stood over the corporal, reading the paragraph ten times over to him, as he was at work, lest, peradventure, he should make the breach an inch too wide,—or leave it an inch too narrow.——But when the chamade was beat, and the corporal helped my uncle up it, and followed with the colours in his hand, to fix them upon the ramparts—Heaven!

From Project Gutenberg

During this action, an English officer was seen approaching with a white flag, accompanied by a youth in negro’s dress, and beating the chamade on his drum: our artillery suspended their fire, but the Indians attacking the English officer, murdered him and the boy who accompanied him.

From Project Gutenberg

All the morning then we remained in the greatest uncertainty, but about three of the afternoon Colonel Cotton rode up the street with a dragoon and a drum beating a chamade before him, and then we knew that these rumours were indeed the truth.

From Project Gutenberg

Chamade, sham′ad, n. a signal inviting a parley.

From Project Gutenberg

At least that's the Deneuve of late, for while La Chamade is based on a Fran�oise Sagan novel, it somewhat resembles Belle de Jour and, to a lesser extent, The April Fools.

From Time Magazine Archive