To chop or shape something (especially wood) with an axe, knife, or similar tool.
From Old English 'heawan,' related to Old High German 'houwan' and Latin 'cudere' (to strike). The word has been used for over a thousand years to describe the action of cutting with a sharp tool, and shares roots with 'hoe' and 'hay-making.'
Hew is one of those ancient verbs that reveals class divisions in English—'hew' comes from Old English (Anglo-Saxon), while 'carve' comes from Old Norse (Viking), and 'sculpt' from Latin (Norman), reflecting who did what kind of work after 1066.
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