Adz
/ædz/noun
A cutting tool with a curved blade set at a right angle to its handle, used chiefly for shaping wood.
Did you know?“Adz” is a variant spelling of “adze,” whose Old English ancestor was already naming a specialized woodworking tool more than a thousand years ago.
Etymological Timeline
Old English, before 1100
Old English
adesa
“An adze or woodworking tool used for cutting and shaping timber”
Middle English, 12th–15th centuries
Middle English
adesse
“An adze, with spelling influenced by changing English pronunciation and orthography”
15th Century
English
adse
“A woodworking implement with a transverse cutting blade”
16th Century
English
adze
“The established spelling for the tool”
Modern English
English
adz
“A recognized variant spelling of adze”