To hew or chop something in advance, or to shape wood before the main construction begins.
From Old English 'fore-' meaning 'before' combined with 'hew,' which comes from Proto-Germanic 'hauwan' meaning 'to strike or cut.' The prefix fore- was added to indicate preliminary action.
Medieval carpenters used forehewing to roughly shape timber in the forest before transport, saving weight and effort—an early example of preprocessing materials for efficiency, much like how modern factories prep materials before assembly.
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