hew

- 10 dictionary results

hew

[hyoo or, often, yoo]

verb, hewed, hewed or hewn, hew⋅ing.

–verb (used with object)

1.	to strike forcibly with an ax, sword, or other cutting instrument; chop; hack.

2.	to make, shape, smooth, etc., with cutting blows: to hew a passage through the crowd; to hew a statue from marble.

3.	to sever (a part) from a whole by means of cutting blows (usually fol. by away, off, out, from, etc.): to hew branches from the tree.

4.	to cut down; fell: to hew wood; trees hewed down by the storm.

–verb (used without object)

5.	to strike with cutting blows; cut: He hewed more vigorously each time.

6.	to uphold, follow closely, or conform (usually fol. by to): to hew to the tenets of one's political party.

Origin:
bef. 900; ME hewen, OE hēawan; c. G hauen, ON hǫggva; akin to haggle

Related forms:

hew⋅a⋅ble, adjective

hewer, noun

Synonyms:
1. See cut. 2. form.

HEW

Department of Health, Education, and Welfare.

Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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Link To hew

hew (hyōō)

v. hewed, hewn (hyōōn) or hewed, hew·ing, hews

v. tr.

To make or shape with or as if with an ax: hew a path through the underbrush.
To cut down with an ax; fell: hew an oak.
To strike or cut; cleave.

v. intr.

To cut something by repeated blows, as of an ax.
To adhere or conform strictly; hold: hew to the line.

[Middle English hewen, from Old English hēawan; see kau- in Indo-European roots.]
hew'er n.

HEW
abbr. Department of Health, Education, and Welfare

The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Hew

Hew\, v. t. [imp. Hewed; p. p. Hewed or Hewn; p. pr. & vb. n. Hewing.] [AS. he['a]wan; akin to D. houwen, OHG. houwan, G. hauen, Icel. h["o]ggva, Sw. hugga, Dan. hugge, Lith. kova battle, Russ. kovate to hammer, forge. Cf. Hay cut grass, Hoe.]

1. To cut with an ax; to fell with a sharp instrument; -- often with down, or off. --Shak.

2. To form or shape with a sharp instrument; to cut; hence, to form laboriously; -- often with out; as, to hew out a sepulcher.

Look unto the rock whence ye are hewn. --Is. li. 1.

Rather polishing old works than hewing out new. --Pope.

3. To cut in pieces; to chop; to hack.

Hew them to pieces; hack their bones asunder. --Shak.

Hew

Hew\, n. Destruction by cutting down. [Obs.]

Of whom he makes such havoc and such hew. --Spenser.

Hew

Hew\, n. 1. Hue; color. [Obs.] --Chaucer.

2. Shape; form. [Obs.] --Spenser.

Language Translation for : hew

Spanish: cortar, tajar, talar,

German: hauen,

Japanese: 切り倒す

More Translations »

hew

O.E. heawan "to chop, hack, gash" (class VII strong verb; past tense heow, pp. heawen), earlier geheawan, from P.Gmc. *khawwanan (cf. O.N. hoggva, Du. houwen, Ger. hauen "to cut, strike, hew"), from PIE base *qau- "to strike, beat" (cf. O.C.S. kovo, Lith. kauju "to beat, forge;" L. cudere "to strike, beat;" M.Ir. cuad "beat, fight"). Weak pp. hewede appeared 14c. Seemingly contradictory sense of "hold fast, stick to" (in phrase hew to) developed from hew to the line "stick to a course," lit. "cut evenly with an axe or saw," first recorded 1891.

Main Entry: HEW
Function: abbreviation
Department of Health, Education, and Welfare

HEW
Department of Health, Education, and Welfare

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