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definitions

hewn

[ hyoon or, often, yoon ]
/ hyun or, often, yun /
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adjective

felled and roughly shaped by hewing: hewn logs.
given a rough surface: hewn stone.

RELATED WORDS

cleave, fashion, prune, chip, stroke, chop, strike, shape, fell, hack, carve, hold, axe

Nearby words

  1. hewer,
  2. hewers of wood and drawers of water,
  3. hewish,
  4. hewitt,
  5. hewlett,
  6. hex,
  7. hex sign,
  8. hex.,
  9. hexa-,
  10. hexabasic

Origin of hewn

1300–50; Middle English hewen, past participle of hew
Related formsun·hewn, adjectivewell-hewn, adjective

hew

[ hyoo or, often, yoo ]
/ hyu or, often, yu /

verb (used with object), hewed, hewed or hewn, hew·ing.

to strike forcibly with an ax, sword, or other cutting instrument; chop; hack.
to make, shape, smooth, etc., with cutting blows: to hew a passage through the crowd; to hew a statue from marble.
to sever (a part) from a whole by means of cutting blows (usually followed by away, off, out, from, etc.): to hew branches from the tree.
to cut down; fell: to hew wood; trees hewed down by the storm.

verb (used without object), hewed, hewed or hewn, hew·ing.

to strike with cutting blows; cut: He hewed more vigorously each time.
to uphold, follow closely, or conform (usually followed by to): to hew to the tenets of one's political party.

Origin of hew

before 900; Middle English hewen, Old English hēawan; cognate with German hauen, Old Norse hǫggva; akin to haggle
Related formshew·a·ble, adjectivehew·er, nounun·hew·a·ble, adjectiveun·hewed, adjective
Can be confusedhew hue Hugh

Synonym study

1. See cut.
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for hewn

British Dictionary definitions for hewn

hew

/ (hjuː) /

verb hews, hewing, hewed, hewed or hewn (hjuːn)

to strike (something, esp wood) with cutting blows, as with an axe
(tr often foll by out) to shape or carve from a substance
(tr; often foll by away, down, from, off, etc) to sever from a larger or another portion
(intr often foll by to) US and Canadian to conform (to a code, principle, etc)
Derived Formshewer, noun

Word Origin for hew

Old English hēawan; related to Old Norse heggva, Old Saxon hāwa, Old High German houwan, Latin cūdere to beat

HEW

abbreviation for (in the US)

Department of Health, Education, and Welfare
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
Word Origin and History for hewn
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper