CHAFF, the husks left after threshing grain (A.S. ceaf, allied to O.H.Ger. cheva, a husk or pod) ; also hay and straw chopped fine as food for cattle ; hence, the worthless part of anything. The colloquial phrase, to chaff, meaning to make fun of a person, is derived from this word, or from "to chafe," meaning to irritate.