Hewing
/ˈhjuːɪŋ/noun
The act of cutting, chopping, or shaping something with blows, especially wood or stone.
Did you know?Hewing comes from an old Germanic verb family meaning to strike or cut, and its deeper cousins are tied to the same ancient root behind words for blows and chopping across early Indo-European languages.
Etymological Timeline
Proto-Indo-European
PIE
*keh₂u-
“to strike, cut, or chop”
Proto-Germanic
PGmc
*hōwjaną
“to hew, cut down, or chop”
Old English
OE
hēawan
“to cut, chop, fell, or strike with an axe”
Middle English
ME
hewen
“to cut or shape by blows”
Modern English
English
hewing
“cutting, chopping, or shaping with repeated blows”