Webster
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Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary · 1913

Hew

Hew (hū), v. t. [imp. Hewed (hūd); p. p. Hewed or Hewn (hūn); p. pr. & vb. n. Hewing.] [AS. heáwan; akin to D. houwen, OHG. houwan, G. hauen, Icel. höggva, Sw. hugga, Dan. hugge, Lith. kova battle, Russ. kovate to hammer, forge. Cf. Hay cut grass, Hoe.] 1. To cut with an ax; to fell with a sharp instrument; — often with down, or off. Shak.

2. To form or shape with a sharp instrument; to cut; hence, to form laboriously; — often with out; as, to hew out a sepulcher.

Look unto the rock whence ye are hewn. Is. li. 1.

Rather polishing old works than hewing out new. Pope.

3. To cut in pieces; to chop; to hack.

Hew them to pieces; hack their bones asunder. Shak.

Hew, n. Destruction by cutting down. [Obs.]

Of whom he makes such havoc and such hew. Spenser.

Hew, n. 1. Hue; color. [Obs.] Chaucer.

2. Shape; form. [Obs.] Spenser.

Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, Noah Porter, editor (Springfield, Mass.: G. & C. Merriam, 1913). Public domain. Text as transcribed by MICRA, Inc., from Project Gutenberg. Changed for Deep Dive Bible: Greek, which our source spelled in Latin letters, set in Greek letters; entries of one spelling merged into one article.