Chafe-wax
Chafe-wax
Archaic English occupation
A chafe-wax, or chaff-wax, was an officer under the Lord Chancellor, whose duty it was to prepare the wax for sealing documents.[1] The office was abolished in 1852.[1]
According to the Oxford English Dictionary, the earliest written reference was in 1607, when 'Chafewaxe' was defined as "an officer in chauncery, that fitteth the waxe for the sealing of the writs."[1]
The expression comes from 'chafe', an obsolete verb meaning to warm or heat.[2]