chisel

Pronunciation

• IPA: /ˈt͡ʃɪzəl/^[1]

Etymology

It is inherited from Middle English chisel,^[2][3][4] borrowed from Anglo-Norman chisel, the Old North French form corresponding to Old French cisel (modern French ciseau),^{[2][5][6][3][7]} from Vulgar Latin *cīsellum, an alteration of *caesellum (“cutting tool”),^[2][5][3][8] a diminutive from Latin caesus (“cut”), past participle of caedere (“to cut”).^[2][5][6][3] The -ī- may come from Late Latin cīsōrium (“cutting instrument”).^[7][9] The root is Proto-Indo-European *kae-id- (“to strike”).^[6][2]

Earliest recorded meaning

Any of several cutting tools used by masons, sculptors, carpenters or metalworkers (1323 in Barnhart; 1353 in the MED; 1382 in the OED).^[5][4][10]

Semantic evolution

The Old French word in the plural meant scissors, as does modern French ciseaux.^[6][7] The verb, to cut with a chisel, dates from 1509.^[10][5][3] The slang sense “to cheat, defraud” is first recorded in 1808 as chizzel, in a Scottish dictionary;^[10][5][11] its connection with the older word is obscure, but it may mean “to cut close”, as in a bargain.^[6][12][13] The sense “to intrude, butt in” is American, from 1936.^[10][3] The chiseler, a cheat, dates from 1918.^[5]

Timeline

• 1323 – noun, the tool.^[5]
• 1509 – verb, to cut with a chisel.^[10][5][3]
• 1808 – chizzel, to cheat.^[10][5][11]
• 1918 – chiseler, a cheat.^[5]
• 1936 – to intrude, butt in.^[10]

Modern meaning

Noun

1. A metal tool with a sharp, bevelled cutting edge at one end, used to cut and shape wood, stone or metal, often struck with a mallet.

Verb

1. To cut, shape or carve with a chisel.
2. (slang) To cheat or swindle; to obtain by deception.
3. To intrude without welcome, as in chisel in.

Word family

• chiseler
• chisellike
• butt chisel
• cold chisel
• framing chisel
• set chisel

Related words

• scissors
• incise
• concise
• caesura
• cement

References

1. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (1992), 3rd ed., Boston: Houghton Mifflin
3. ^ a b c d e f g Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary (2003), 11th ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
4. ^ a b Kurath, Hans; Kuhn, Sherman M.; Lewis, Robert E., eds. (1952–2001), Middle English Dictionary, Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press; online edition ed. Frances McSparran et al. (2000–2018)
5. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Barnhart, Robert K., ed. (1995), The Barnhart Concise Dictionary of Etymology, New York: HarperCollins
6. ^ a b c d e Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
7. ^ a b c Hoad, T. F., ed. (1986), The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology, Oxford: Clarendon Press
8. ^ Klein, Ernest. A Comprehensive Etymological Dictionary of the English Language. 2 vols. Amsterdam: Elsevier, 1966–1967.
9. ^ Random House Webster's Unabridged Dictionary (1999), 2nd ed., New York: Random House
10. ^ a b c d e f g Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press
11. ^ a b Green, Jonathon (2010), Green's Dictionary of Slang, London: Chambers; digital ed. 2016–, https://greensdictofslang.com
12. ^ Partridge, Eric (1966), Origins: A Short Etymological Dictionary of Modern English, 4th ed., London: Routledge & Kegan Paul
13. ^ Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster