Chad

n.

1.

See Shad.

Noun	1.	chad - a small piece of paper that is supposed to be removed when a hole is punched in a card or paper tape
	2.	Chad - a lake in north central Africa; fed by the Shari river Synonyms: Lake Chad
	3.	Chad - a landlocked desert republic in north-central Africa; was under French control until 1960 Synonyms: Republic of Chad, Tchad
	4.	Chad - a family of Afroasiatic tonal languages (mostly two tones) spoken in the regions west and south of Lake Chad in north central Africa Synonyms: Chadic, Chadic language

(jargon, printer)

chad - /chad/ (Or "selvage" /sel'v*j/ (sewing and weaving), "perf", "perfory", "snaf"). 1. The perforated edge strips on paper for sprocket feed printers, after they have been separated from the printed portion. The term perf may also refer to the perforations themselves, rather than the chad they produce when torn. 2. (Or "chaff", "computer confetti", "keypunch droppings") The confetti-like bits punched out of punched cards or paper tape which collected in the chad box. One of the Jargon File's correspondents believed that "chad" derived from the chadless keypunch.

dimple, dimpled chad, hanging chad, paper, pregnant chad, swinging chad, tri-chad