chop (chop)

[Hind. chhāp, stamp, seal, print, copy, impre ion.] 1. In India, China, etc.: (a) An official mark on weights and measures to show their accuracy. (b) A customhouse stamp or seal on goods that have been pa ed; a permit or clearance. The Governor or his Deputy gives his Chop or Pa to all Ve els that go up or down; not so much as a Boat being suffered to proceed without it. Dampier , Voyages, II. 16. 2. In China, brand; quality: as, silk or tea of the first chop. Hence the colloquial phrase first chop, first rate.-3. A lot of tea to which a common mark or brand is affixed; a brand of tea. A chop may contain a few chests or a large number. The English merchants in Shanghae best know how many chops of tea they obtain from the district every year. W. H. Medhurst, Interior of China, p. 150. Chow-chow chop. See chow - chow. - The grand chop, the port clearance granted by the Chinese customs when all duties have been paid and all the port regulations complied with. Also called the red chop, from the large vermilion seal upon it. chop a, choppa (cho'pä, chop'pä), n.; pl. chopæ, choppæ (-pe). (-pe). [ML.] A loose upper garment worn in the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries. chop-boat (chop'bōt), n. In China, a licensed lighter or cargo-boat, for the conveyance of goods to and from ve els in the harbor. chop-cherry (chop'cher i), n. [ a thread Herrick.