chisel

[chiz-uh l] /ˈtʃɪz əl/
noun
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.
chisel plow.
3.
(initial capital letter) Astronomy. the constellation Caelum.
verb (used with object), chiseled, chiseling or (especially British) chiselled, chiselling.
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.
verb (used without object), chiseled, chiseling or (especially British) chiselled, chiselling.
7.
to work with a chisel.
8.
to trick; cheat.
Origin
1325-75; Middle English < Anglo-French, variant of Old French cisel < Vulgar Latin *cīsellus, diminutive of *cīsus, for Latin caesus, past participle of caedere to cut, with -ī- generalized from prefixed derivatives; cf. excide
Related forms
chisellike, adjective
Examples from the web for chisel
  • Three years had now elapsed without any production coming from his chisel.
  • In other words cam software usually comes with a machine such as a lathe or chisel.
  • In use, the chisel is forced into the material to cut the material.
  • Slick a large chisel driven by manual pressure, never struck.
  • Dovetail chisel made specifically for cutting dovetail joints.
  • The chisel makers often turned their attention to chisel and plane makers.
  • A hot chisel is used to cut metal that has been heated in a forge to soften the metal.
  • The round nose chisel is used for cutting semicircular grooves for oil ways in bearings.
  • A plugging chisel has a tapered edge for cleaning out hardened mortar.
British Dictionary definitions for chisel

chisel

/ˈtʃɪzəl/
noun
1.
  1. a hand tool for working wood, consisting of a flat steel blade with a cutting edge attached to a handle of wood, plastic, etc. It is either struck with a mallet or used by hand
  2. a similar tool without a handle for working stone or metal
verb -els, -elling, -elled (US) -els, -eling, -eled
2.
to carve (wood, stone, metal, etc) or form (an engraving, statue, etc) with or as with a chisel
3.
(slang) to cheat or obtain by cheating
Word Origin
C14: via Old French, from Vulgar Latin cīsellus (unattested), from Latin caesus cut, from caedere to cut
Contemporary definitions for chisel
verb

See chizzle

Word Origin and History for chisel
n.

early 14c., from Anglo-French cisel, Old French cisel "chisel," in plural, "scissors, shears" (12c., Modern French ciseau), from Vulgar Latin *cisellum "cutting tool," from Latin caesellum, diminutive of caesus, past participle of caedere "to cut" (see -cide). Related: Chiseled; chiseling.

v.

c.1500, "to break with a chisel," from chisel (n.). Slang sense of "to cheat, defraud" is first recorded in 1808 as chizzel; origin and connection to the older word are obscure (cf. slang sense of gouge); chiseler in this sense is from 1918. Related: Chiseled; chiseling.

Slang definitions & phrases for chisel

chisel

verb
  1. To cheat or defraud, esp in a petty way; deal unfairly; scam: Every time I buy a car part, he chisels a buck or two (1808+)
  2. To get without necessarily intending to repay or return; bum, mooch: Can I chisel a cigarette from you, pal? (1920s+)

chisel in Technology

language
An extension of C for VLSI design, implemented as a C preprocessor. It produces CIF as output.
["CHISEL - An Extension to the Programming language C for VLSI Layout", K. Karplus, PHD Thesis, Stanford U, 1982].
(2006-09-19)