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viselike

 - 2 dictionary results

vise

  [vahys] noun, verb, vised, vis⋅ing.
Use viselike in a Sentence
–noun
1. any of various devices, usually having two jaws that may be brought together or separated by means of a screw, lever, or the like, used to hold an object firmly while work is being done on it.
–verb (used with object)
2. to hold, press, or squeeze with or as with a vise.
Also, vice.

Origin:
1300–50; ME vis < OF: screw < L vītis vine (whose spiral form gave later sense)

Related forms:
viselike, adjective
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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Word Origin & History

vise 
c.1300, "device like a screw or winch for bending a crossbow or catapult," from O.Fr. vis, viz "screw," from L. vitis "vine, tendril of a vine," lit. "that which winds," from base of viere "to bind, twist" (see withy). The meaning "clamping tool with two jaws closed by a screw" is first recorded 1500.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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