— chisellike , adj.
/chiz"euhl/ , n. , v. , chiseled, chiseling or ( esp. Brit. ) chiselled, chiselling .
n.
1. a wedgelike tool with a cutting edge at the end of the blade, often made of steel, used for cutting or shaping wood, stone, etc.
2. See chisel plow .
3. ( cap. ) Astron. the constellation Caelum.
v.t.
4. to cut, shape, or fashion by or as if by carving with a chisel.
5. to cheat or swindle (someone): He chiseled me out of fifty dollars.
6. to get (something) by cheating or trickery: He chiseled fifty dollars out of me.
v.i.
7. to work with a chisel.
8. to trick; cheat.
[ 1325-75; ME cisel cisellus, dim. of * cisus, for L caesus, ptp. of caedere to cut, with -i- generalized from prefixed derivatives; cf. EXCIDE ]