[hew] vb hewed ; hewed or hewn ; hew.ing [ME, fr. OE heawan; akin to OHG houwan to hew, Lith kauti to forge, L cudere to beat] vt (bef. 12c) 1: to cut with blows of a heavy cutting instrument
2: to fell by blows of an ax "~ a tree"
3: to give form or shape to with or as if with heavy cutting blows "~ed their farms from the wilderness --J. T. Shotwell" ~ vi 1: to make cutting blows
2: conform, adhere--often used in the phrase hew to the line "no pressure ... on newspapers to ~ to the official line --N.Y. Times Mag." -- hew.er n