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rabbet

 - 3 dictionary results

rab⋅bet

[rab-it] noun, verb, -bet⋅ed, -bet⋅ing.
–noun
1. a deep notch formed in or near one edge of a board, framing timber, etc., so that something else can be fitted into it or so that a door or the like can be closed against it.
2. a broad groove let into the surface of a board or the like; dado.
–verb (used with object)
3. to cut a rabbet in (a board or the like).
4. to join (boards or the like) by means of a rabbet or rabbets.
–verb (used without object)
5. to join by a rabbet (usually fol. by on or over).
Also, rebate.


Origin:
1350–1400; ME rabet < OF rabat, deriv. of rabattre to beat back, beat down; see rebate 1
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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rab·bet   (rāb'ĭt)   


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n.  
  1. A cut or groove along or near the edge of a piece of wood that allows another piece to fit into it to form a joint.

  2. A joint so made.

v.   rab·bet·ed also re·bat·ed, rab·bet·ing also re·bat·ing, rab·bets also re·bates

v.   tr.
  1. To cut a rabbet in.

  2. To join by a rabbet.

v.   intr.
To be joined by a rabbet.

[Middle English rabet, from Old French rabat, recess in a wall, act of beating down, from rabattre, to beat down again; see rebate1.]
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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Word Origin & History

rabbet 
1382 (implied in rabbeting), from O.Fr. rabbat "a recess in a wall," lit. "a beating down," from rabattre "beat down, beat back" (see rebate). The verb is attested from 1565.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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