Etymograph

English

chisel

Chisel comes from Old Northern French chisel, from cisoir ‘cutting tool’, and ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *kh₂eyd- ‘to cut, hew’.

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*kh₂eyd-‘to cut, hew’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Indo-European, derivedc. 4500–2500 BCE*kh₂éydetireconstructed
  3. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*kaidō‘to cut, hew, fell’reconstructed
  4. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEcaedō‘cut’
  5. Late Latinc. 200–600 CEcīsōrium‘cutting tool’
  6. Old Northern Frenchc. 842–1400cisoir‘cutting tool’
  7. Old Northern French, derivedc. 842–1400chisel
  8. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500chisel‘any of several cutting tools used by stone masons’
  9. Englishtodaychisel

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

Lineage

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*kh₂eyd-‘to cut, hew’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Indo-European, derivedc. 4500–2500 BCE*kh₂éydetireconstructed
  3. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*kaidō‘to cut, hew, fell’reconstructed
  4. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEcaedō‘cut’
  5. Late Latinc. 200–600 CEcīsōrium‘cutting tool’
  6. Old Northern Frenchc. 842–1400cisoir‘cutting tool’
  7. Old Northern French, derivedc. 842–1400chisel
  8. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500chisel‘any of several cutting tools used by stone masons’
  9. Englishtodaychisel

Linked words

through Proto-Indo-European *kh₂eyd- ‘to cut, hew’

hit, 28 more

through Latin caedō ‘cut’

decision, cement, precise, circumcision, concise, incision, scissor, incisive, excision, caesium, incisor, 26 more

through Late Latin cīsōrium ‘cutting tool’

scissors

Another origin of chisel

  1. Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*kesul‘small stone, pebble’reconstructed
  2. Old Englishc. 450–1150ċeosol‘gravel, sand’
  3. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500chisel‘any of several cutting tools used by stone masons’
  4. Englishtodaychisel

Today it means

noun A cutting tool used to remove parts of stone, wood or metal by pushing or pounding the back when the sharp edge is against the material. It consists of a slim, oblong block of metal with a sharp wedge or bevel formed on one end and sometimes a handle at the other end; there are hand tool versions (the original type) and versions as bits for power tools.

Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.

Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *kh₂eyd- / chisel

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