English
fretsaw
From fret + saw.
Proto-Indo-European *h₁ed- ‘to eat’
…
Proto-Germanic *fraetaną ‘to consume, devour, eat up’
Proto-West Germanic *fraetan ‘to devour, eat up, consume’
Old English fretan ‘to eat up, devour’
Middle English frēten ‘to eat (at), corrode, destroy, annoy’
English fret
Today it means
noun A saw consisting of a metal frame having a fine-toothed narrow blade held under tension, used in making curved cuts.
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / fretsaw