Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • intransitive verb To cause to be different.
  • intransitive verb To give a completely different form or appearance to; transform.
  • intransitive verb To give and receive reciprocally; interchange.
  • intransitive verb To exchange for or replace with another, usually of the same kind or category.
  • intransitive verb To lay aside, abandon, or leave for another; switch.
  • intransitive verb To transfer from (one conveyance) to another.
  • intransitive verb To give or receive the equivalent of (money) in lower denominations or in foreign currency.
  • intransitive verb To put a fresh covering on.
  • intransitive verb To become different or undergo alteration.
  • intransitive verb To undergo transformation or transition.
  • intransitive verb To go from one phase to another, as the moon or the seasons.
  • intransitive verb To make an exchange.
  • intransitive verb To transfer from one conveyance to another.
  • intransitive verb To put on other clothing.
  • intransitive verb To become deeper in tone.
  • noun The act, process, or result of altering or modifying.
  • noun The replacing of one thing for another; substitution.
  • noun A transformation or transition from one state, condition, or phase to another.
  • noun Something different; variety.
  • noun A different or fresh set of clothing.
  • noun Money of smaller denomination given or received in exchange for money of higher denomination.
  • noun The balance of money returned when an amount given is more than what is due.
  • noun Coins.
  • noun A pattern or order in which bells are rung.
  • noun In jazz, a change of harmony; a modulation.
  • noun A market or exchange where business is transacted.
  • idiom (change hands) To pass from one owner to another.
  • idiom (change (one's) mind) To reverse a previously held opinion or an earlier decision.
  • idiom (change (one's) tune) To alter one's approach or attitude.

from The Century Dictionary.

  • To substitute another thing or things for; shift; cause to be replaced by another: as, to change the clothes, or one suit of clothes for another; to change one's position.
  • Specifically To give or procure an equivalent for in smaller parts of like kind; make or get change for: said of money: as, to change a bank-note (that is, to give or receive coins or smaller notes in exchange for it).
  • To give and take reciprocally; barter; exchange.
  • To cause to turn or pass from one state to another; alter or make different; vary in external form or in essence: as, to change the color or shape of a thing; to change countenance.
  • To render acid or tainted; turn from a natural state of sweetness and purity: as, the wine is changed; thunder and lightning are said to change milk.
  • To be altered; undergo variation; be partially or wholly transformed: as, men sometimes change for the better, often for the worse.
  • To pass from one phase to another, as the moon: as, the moon will change on Friday.
  • To become acid or tainted, as milk.
  • To change, radically, one's views on any question.
  • noun Any variation or alteration in form, state, quality, or essence; a passing from one state or form to another: as, a change of countenance or of aspect; a change of habits or principles.
  • noun Specifically
  • noun The passing from life to death; death.
  • noun In vocalics, the mutation of the male voice at puberty, whereby the soprano or alto of the boy is replaced by the tenor or bass of the man.
  • noun In harmony, a modulation or transition from one key or tonality to another.
  • noun Variation or variableness in general; the quality or condition of being unstable; instability; transition; alteration: as, all things are subject to change; change is the central fact of existence.

Etymologies

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition

[Middle English changen, from Norman French chaunger, from Latin cambiāre, cambīre, to exchange, probably of Celtic origin.]

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

As a verb, via Middle English cha(u)ngen, from Anglo-Norman chaunger, from Old French changier (compare modern French changer), from Late Latin cambiāre < Latin cambīre, present active infinitive of cambiō ("exchange, barter"), of Celtic origin, from Proto-Celtic *kamb- (“crooked, bent”), from Proto-Indo-European *(s)ḱamb-, *(s)kamb- (“crooked”). Cognate with Italian cambiare, Portuguese cambiar, Romanian schimb, Spanish cambiar. Used in English since the 13th Century.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

As a noun, from Middle English cha(u)nge, from Anglo-Norman chaunge, from Old French change, from a derivative of the verb changier. See below for the verb form. See also exchange.

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