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hew

 - 8 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.
Use hew in a Sentence
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.

Department of Health, Education, and Welfare

 
–noun
a former department of the U.S. government (1953–79) that administered federal programs dealing with health, education, welfare, and income security. Abbreviation: HEW
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2010.
Cite This Source Link To hew
hew   (hyōō)   
v.   hewed, hewn (hyōōn) or hewed, hew·ing, hews

v.   tr.

  1. To make or shape with or as if with an ax: hew a path through the underbrush.

  2. To cut down with an ax; fell: hew an oak.

  3. To strike or cut; cleave.

v.   intr.

  1. To cut something by repeated blows, as of an ax.

  2. 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.
Cite This Source
Word Origin & History

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.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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Medical Dictionary

Main Entry: HEW
Function: abbreviation
Department of Health, Education, and Welfare
Merriam-Webster's Medical Dictionary, © 2002 Merriam-Webster, Inc.
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Abbreviations & Acronyms
HEW
Department of Health, Education, and Welfare
The American Heritage® Abbreviations Dictionary, Third Edition
Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
Cite This Source
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