1. n. & v.
--n.
1. a a hand tool having a toothed blade used to cut esp. wood with a to-and-fro movement. b any of several mechanical power-driven devices with a toothed rotating disk or moving band, for cutting.
2 Zool. etc. a serrated organ or part.
--v. (past part. sawn or sawed)
1. tr. a cut (wood etc.) with a saw. b make (boards etc.) with a saw.
2 intr. use a saw.
3 a intr. move to and fro with a motion as of a saw or person sawing (sawing away on his violin). b tr. divide (the air etc.) with gesticulations.
Phrases and idioms:
saw-doctor a machine for making the teeth of a saw. saw-edged with a jagged edge like a saw. saw-frame a frame in which a saw-blade is held taut. saw-gate saw-frame. saw-gin cotton-gin. saw-horse a rack supporting wood for sawing. sawn-off (US sawed-off)
1. (of a gun) having part of the barrel sawn off to make it easier to handle and give a wider field of fire.
2 colloq. (of a person) short. saw-pit a pit in which the lower of two men working a pit-saw stands. saw-set a tool for wrenching saw-teeth in alternate directions to allow the saw to work freely. saw-wort a composite plant, Serratula tinctoria, yielding a yellow dye from its serrated leaves.
Derivatives:
sawlike adj.
Etymology: OE saga f. Gmc 2. past of SEE(1).3. n. a proverb; a maxim (that's just an old saw).
Etymology: OE sagu f. Gmc, rel. to SAY: cf. SAGA