Definitions for: Saw


[n] a power tool for cutting wood
[n] hand tool having a toothed blade for cutting
[n] a condensed but memorable saying embodying some important fact of experience that is taken as true by many people
[v] cut with a saw; "saw wood for the fireplace"



Webster (1913) Definition: Saw (s[add]),
imp. of See.


Saw, n. [OE. sawe, AS. sagu; akin to secgan to say. See
Say, v. t. and cf. Saga.]
1. Something said; speech; discourse. [Obs.] ``To hearken all
his sawe.'' --Chaucer.

2. A saying; a proverb; a maxim.

His champions are the prophets and apostles, His
weapons holy saws of sacred writ. --Shak.

3. Dictate; command; decree. [Obs.]

[Love] rules the creatures by his powerful saw.
--Spenser.


Saw, n. [OE. sawe, AS. sage; akin to D. zaag, G. s["a]ge,
OHG. sega, saga, Dan. sav, Sw. s[*a]g, Icel. s["o]g, L.
secare to cut, securis ax, secula sickle. Cf. Scythe,
Sickle, Section, Sedge.]
An instrument for cutting or dividing substances, as wood,
iron, etc., consisting of a thin blade, or plate, of steel,
with a series of sharp teeth on the edge, which remove
successive portions of the material by cutting and tearing.

Note: Saw is frequently used adjectively, or as the first
part of a compound.

Band saw, Crosscut saw, etc. See under Band,
Crosscut, etc.

Circular saw, a disk of steel with saw teeth upon its
periphery, and revolved on an arbor.

Saw bench, a bench or table with a flat top for for sawing,
especially with a circular saw which projects above the
table.

Saw file, a three-cornered file, such as is used for
sharpening saw teeth.

Saw frame, the frame or sash in a sawmill, in which the
saw, or gang of saws, is held.

Saw gate, a saw frame.

Saw gin, the form of cotton gin invented by Eli Whitney, in
which the cotton fibers are drawn, by the teeth of a set
of revolving circular saws, through a wire grating which
is too fine for the seeds to pass.

Saw grass (Bot.), any one of certain cyperaceous plants
having the edges of the leaves set with minute sharp
teeth, especially the Cladium Mariscus of Europe, and
the Cladium effusum of the Southern United States. Cf.
Razor grass, under Razor.

Saw log, a log of suitable size for sawing into lumber.

Saw mandrel, a mandrel on which a circular saw is fastened
for running.

Saw pit, a pit over which timbor is sawed by two men, one
standing below the timber and the other above. --Mortimer.

Saw sharpener (Zo["o]l.), the great titmouse; -- so named
from its harsh call note. [Prov. Eng.]

Saw whetter (Zo["o]l.), the marsh titmouse ({Parus
palustris}); -- so named from its call note. [Prov. Eng.]



Scroll saw, a ribbon of steel with saw teeth upon one edge,
stretched in a frame and adapted for sawing curved
outlines; also, a machine in which such a saw is worked by
foot or power.


Saw, v. t. [imp. Sawed; p. p. Sawed or Sawn; p. pr.
& vb. n. Sawing.]
1. To cut with a saw; to separate with a saw; as, to saw
timber or marble.

2. To form by cutting with a saw; as, to saw boards or
planks, that is, to saw logs or timber into boards or
planks; to saw shingles; to saw out a panel.

3. Also used figuratively; as, to saw the air.


Saw, v. i.
1. To use a saw; to practice sawing; as, a man saws well.

2. To cut, as a saw; as, the saw or mill saws fast.

3. To be cut with a saw; as, the timber saws smoothly.

Synonyms: adage, byword, power saw, proverb, sawing machine

See Also: bandsaw, bill, billhook, buzz saw, carpenter's saw, chain saw, chainsaw, circular saw, crown saw, cut, expression, fretsaw, gangsaw, hacksaw, hand tool, handsaw, jigsaw, locution, metal saw, power tool, sawmill, sawtooth, saying, scroll saw, tooth, whipsaw

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