Bevel
/ˈbɛv.əl/noun
A sloping edge or surface cut at an angle, especially on a tool, frame, or piece of glass.
Did you know?Bevel comes from a word for a slanted angle, and its history runs through Old French and Old English, where craftsmen used it to describe edges cut off from the square—an everyday term born in the workshop, not the temple.
Etymological Timeline
Proto-Germanic
PGmc
*bi-
“A prefix meaning “by, beside, around” (the first element behind the old form).”
Old English
OE
bifol
“A slanting or oblique form; used in the sense of “at an angle.””
Old French
OF
biveau
“A bevel, sloping edge, or oblique cut.”
Middle English
ME
bevel
“A sloping edge or angle cut on wood, stone, or metal.”
Modern English
English
bevel
“A slanted edge or surface, especially one cut at an angle for fitting or decoration.”