- chisel
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—chisellike, adj.n.1. a wedgelike tool with a cutting edge at the end of the blade, often made of steel, used for cutting or shaping wood, stone, etc.2. See chisel plow.v.t.4. to cut, shape, or fashion by or as if by carving with a chisel.5. to cheat or swindle (someone): He chiseled me out of fifty dollars.6. to get (something) by cheating or trickery: He chiseled fifty dollars out of me.v.i.7. to work with a chisel.8. to trick; cheat.[1325-75; ME < AF, var. of OF cisel < VL *cisellus, dim. of *cisus, for L caesus, ptp. of caedere to cut, with -i- generalized from prefixed derivatives; cf. EXCIDE]
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Cutting tool with a sharpened edge at the end of a metal blade, used (often by driving with a mallet or hammer) in dressing, shaping, or working a solid material such as wood, stone, or metal.Flint ancestors of the chisel existed by 8000 BC; the ancient Egyptians used copper and later bronze chisels to work both wood and soft stone. Chisels today are made of steel, in various sizes and degrees of hardness, depending on use.* * *
▪ toolcutting tool with a sharpened edge at the end of a metal blade, used—often by driving with a mallet or hammer—in dressing, shaping, or working a solid material such as wood, stone, or metal. Flint ancestors of the present-day chisel existed as far back as 8000 BC; the Egyptians used copper and later bronze chisels to work both wood and soft stone. Chisels today are made of steel, in various sizes and degrees of hardness, depending on use.* * *
Universalium. 2010.
