kerf

Meanings

Noun

• The act of cutting or carving something; a stroke or slice.
• The groove or slit created by cutting or sawing something; an incision.
• The distance between diverging saw teeth.
• The flattened, cut-off end of a branch or tree; a stump or sawn-off cross-section.
• The portion or quantity (e.g. of hay, turf, wool, etc.) cut off in a given stroke.

Verb

• To cut a piece of wood or other material with several kerfs to allow it to be bent.

Origin

• From Middle English kerf, kirf, kyrf, from Old English cyrf, from Proto-Germanic *kurbiz, from Proto-Indo-European *gerbʰ-. Cognate with Saterland Frisian Käärf, German Kerbe.