"kerf" meaning in English

See kerf in All languages combined, or Wiktionary

Noun

IPA: /kɜː(ɹ)f/ Audio: en-us-kerf.ogg [US] Forms: kerfs [plural]
Rhymes: -ɜː(ɹ)f Etymology: From Middle English kerf, kirf, kyrf, from Old English cyrf (“an act of cutting, a cutting off; a cutting instrument”), from Proto-West Germanic *kurbi, from Proto-Germanic *kurbiz (“a cut; notch; clipping”), from Proto-Indo-European *gerbʰ- (“to scratch”). Cognate with Saterland Frisian Käärf, West Frisian kerf, Swedish korv. Related also to Dutch kerf, German Low German Karve, Karv, German Kerbe. Etymology templates: {{inh|en|enm|kerf}} Middle English kerf, {{m|enm|kirf}} kirf, {{m|enm|kyrf}} kyrf, {{inh|en|ang|cyrf|t=an act of cutting, a cutting off; a cutting instrument}} Old English cyrf (“an act of cutting, a cutting off; a cutting instrument”), {{inh|en|gmw-pro|*kurbi}} Proto-West Germanic *kurbi, {{inh|en|gem-pro|*kurbiz|t=a cut; notch; clipping}} Proto-Germanic *kurbiz (“a cut; notch; clipping”), {{der|en|ine-pro|*gerbʰ-|t=to scratch}} Proto-Indo-European *gerbʰ- (“to scratch”), {{cog|stq|Käärf}} Saterland Frisian Käärf, {{cog|fy|kerf}} West Frisian kerf, {{cog|sv|korv}} Swedish korv, {{cog|nl|kerf}} Dutch kerf, {{cog|nds-de|Karve}} German Low German Karve, {{m|nds-de|Karv}} Karv, {{cog|de|Kerbe}} German Kerbe Head templates: {{en-noun}} kerf (plural kerfs)
  1. (now rare) The act of cutting or carving something; a stroke or slice. Tags: archaic
    Sense id: en-kerf-en-noun-WL6O02-J
  2. The groove or slit created by cutting or sawing something; an incision. Translations (the groove or slit cut in the workpiece): рязка (rjazka) [feminine] (Bulgarian), lovi (Finnish), uurros (Finnish), Einschnitt [masculine] (German), Kerbe [feminine] (German), Nut [feminine] (German), Schlitz [masculine] (German), Schnittfuge [feminine] (German), Fuge [feminine] (German), intaccatura [feminine] (Italian), зару́бка (zarúbka) [feminine] (Russian), надру́б (nadrúb) [masculine] (Russian), пропи́л (propíl) [masculine] (Russian), (u)rez (Slovene)
    Sense id: en-kerf-en-noun-12PxfEHL Disambiguation of 'the groove or slit cut in the workpiece': 2 63 16 9 9
  3. The portion or quantity (e.g. of wood, hay, turf, wool, etc.) removed or cut off in a given stroke.
    Sense id: en-kerf-en-noun-2z84ssip
  4. The distance between diverging saw teeth. Translations (distance between diverging saw teeth): uurros (Finnish), voie (French), Schränkung [feminine] (German), zareza (Slovene), širina reza žage (Slovene), traba [feminine] (Spanish)
    Sense id: en-kerf-en-noun-F5O7eh9X Categories (other): English entries with incorrect language header Disambiguation of English entries with incorrect language header: 1 13 5 42 30 10 Disambiguation of 'distance between diverging saw teeth': 0 3 1 89 6
  5. The flattened, cut-off end of a branch or tree; a stump or sawn-off cross-section.
    Sense id: en-kerf-en-noun-yGm9~10U
The following are not (yet) sense-disambiguated
Related terms: carve, swarf

Verb

IPA: /kɜː(ɹ)f/ Audio: en-us-kerf.ogg [US] Forms: kerfs [present, singular, third-person], kerfing [participle, present], kerfed [participle, past], kerfed [past]
Rhymes: -ɜː(ɹ)f Etymology: From Middle English kerf, kirf, kyrf, from Old English cyrf (“an act of cutting, a cutting off; a cutting instrument”), from Proto-West Germanic *kurbi, from Proto-Germanic *kurbiz (“a cut; notch; clipping”), from Proto-Indo-European *gerbʰ- (“to scratch”). Cognate with Saterland Frisian Käärf, West Frisian kerf, Swedish korv. Related also to Dutch kerf, German Low German Karve, Karv, German Kerbe. Etymology templates: {{inh|en|enm|kerf}} Middle English kerf, {{m|enm|kirf}} kirf, {{m|enm|kyrf}} kyrf, {{inh|en|ang|cyrf|t=an act of cutting, a cutting off; a cutting instrument}} Old English cyrf (“an act of cutting, a cutting off; a cutting instrument”), {{inh|en|gmw-pro|*kurbi}} Proto-West Germanic *kurbi, {{inh|en|gem-pro|*kurbiz|t=a cut; notch; clipping}} Proto-Germanic *kurbiz (“a cut; notch; clipping”), {{der|en|ine-pro|*gerbʰ-|t=to scratch}} Proto-Indo-European *gerbʰ- (“to scratch”), {{cog|stq|Käärf}} Saterland Frisian Käärf, {{cog|fy|kerf}} West Frisian kerf, {{cog|sv|korv}} Swedish korv, {{cog|nl|kerf}} Dutch kerf, {{cog|nds-de|Karve}} German Low German Karve, {{m|nds-de|Karv}} Karv, {{cog|de|Kerbe}} German Kerbe Head templates: {{en-verb}} kerf (third-person singular simple present kerfs, present participle kerfing, simple past and past participle kerfed)
  1. To cut a piece of wood or other material with several kerfs to allow it to be bent.
    Sense id: en-kerf-en-verb-FHg-HlYK

Inflected forms

Download JSON data for kerf meaning in English (10.8kB)

{
  "etymology_templates": [
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "enm",
        "3": "kerf"
      },
      "expansion": "Middle English kerf",
      "name": "inh"
    },
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "enm",
        "2": "kirf"
      },
      "expansion": "kirf",
      "name": "m"
    },
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "enm",
        "2": "kyrf"
      },
      "expansion": "kyrf",
      "name": "m"
    },
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "ang",
        "3": "cyrf",
        "t": "an act of cutting, a cutting off; a cutting instrument"
      },
      "expansion": "Old English cyrf (“an act of cutting, a cutting off; a cutting instrument”)",
      "name": "inh"
    },
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "gmw-pro",
        "3": "*kurbi"
      },
      "expansion": "Proto-West Germanic *kurbi",
      "name": "inh"
    },
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "gem-pro",
        "3": "*kurbiz",
        "t": "a cut; notch; clipping"
      },
      "expansion": "Proto-Germanic *kurbiz (“a cut; notch; clipping”)",
      "name": "inh"
    },
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "ine-pro",
        "3": "*gerbʰ-",
        "t": "to scratch"
      },
      "expansion": "Proto-Indo-European *gerbʰ- (“to scratch”)",
      "name": "der"
    },
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "stq",
        "2": "Käärf"
      },
      "expansion": "Saterland Frisian Käärf",
      "name": "cog"
    },
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "fy",
        "2": "kerf"
      },
      "expansion": "West Frisian kerf",
      "name": "cog"
    },
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "sv",
        "2": "korv"
      },
      "expansion": "Swedish korv",
      "name": "cog"
    },
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "nl",
        "2": "kerf"
      },
      "expansion": "Dutch kerf",
      "name": "cog"
    },
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "nds-de",
        "2": "Karve"
      },
      "expansion": "German Low German Karve",
      "name": "cog"
    },
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "nds-de",
        "2": "Karv"
      },
      "expansion": "Karv",
      "name": "m"
    },
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "de",
        "2": "Kerbe"
      },
      "expansion": "German Kerbe",
      "name": "cog"
    }
  ],
  "etymology_text": "From Middle English kerf, kirf, kyrf, from Old English cyrf (“an act of cutting, a cutting off; a cutting instrument”), from Proto-West Germanic *kurbi, from Proto-Germanic *kurbiz (“a cut; notch; clipping”), from Proto-Indo-European *gerbʰ- (“to scratch”). Cognate with Saterland Frisian Käärf, West Frisian kerf, Swedish korv. Related also to Dutch kerf, German Low German Karve, Karv, German Kerbe.",
  "forms": [
    {
      "form": "kerfs",
      "tags": [
        "plural"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "head_templates": [
    {
      "args": {},
      "expansion": "kerf (plural kerfs)",
      "name": "en-noun"
    }
  ],
  "lang": "English",
  "lang_code": "en",
  "pos": "noun",
  "related": [
    {
      "_dis1": "0 0 0 0 0",
      "word": "carve"
    },
    {
      "_dis1": "0 0 0 0 0",
      "word": "swarf"
    }
  ],
  "senses": [
    {
      "categories": [],
      "glosses": [
        "The act of cutting or carving something; a stroke or slice."
      ],
      "id": "en-kerf-en-noun-WL6O02-J",
      "links": [
        [
          "cutting",
          "cutting"
        ],
        [
          "carving",
          "carving"
        ],
        [
          "stroke",
          "stroke"
        ],
        [
          "slice",
          "slice"
        ]
      ],
      "raw_glosses": [
        "(now rare) The act of cutting or carving something; a stroke or slice."
      ],
      "tags": [
        "archaic"
      ]
    },
    {
      "categories": [],
      "examples": [
        {
          "ref": "1999, Neal Stephenson, Cryptonomicon",
          "text": "They pass through a cleft that has been made across a low range of hills, like a kerf in the top of a log, and enter into a lovely territory of subtly swelling emerald green fields strewn randomly with small white capsules that he takes to be sheep.",
          "type": "quotation"
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "The groove or slit created by cutting or sawing something; an incision."
      ],
      "id": "en-kerf-en-noun-12PxfEHL",
      "links": [
        [
          "groove",
          "groove"
        ],
        [
          "slit",
          "slit"
        ],
        [
          "incision",
          "incision"
        ]
      ],
      "translations": [
        {
          "_dis1": "2 63 16 9 9",
          "code": "bg",
          "lang": "Bulgarian",
          "roman": "rjazka",
          "sense": "the groove or slit cut in the workpiece",
          "tags": [
            "feminine"
          ],
          "word": "рязка"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "2 63 16 9 9",
          "code": "fi",
          "lang": "Finnish",
          "sense": "the groove or slit cut in the workpiece",
          "word": "lovi"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "2 63 16 9 9",
          "code": "fi",
          "lang": "Finnish",
          "sense": "the groove or slit cut in the workpiece",
          "word": "uurros"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "2 63 16 9 9",
          "code": "de",
          "lang": "German",
          "sense": "the groove or slit cut in the workpiece",
          "tags": [
            "masculine"
          ],
          "word": "Einschnitt"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "2 63 16 9 9",
          "code": "de",
          "lang": "German",
          "sense": "the groove or slit cut in the workpiece",
          "tags": [
            "feminine"
          ],
          "word": "Kerbe"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "2 63 16 9 9",
          "code": "de",
          "lang": "German",
          "sense": "the groove or slit cut in the workpiece",
          "tags": [
            "feminine"
          ],
          "word": "Nut"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "2 63 16 9 9",
          "code": "de",
          "lang": "German",
          "sense": "the groove or slit cut in the workpiece",
          "tags": [
            "masculine"
          ],
          "word": "Schlitz"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "2 63 16 9 9",
          "code": "de",
          "lang": "German",
          "sense": "the groove or slit cut in the workpiece",
          "tags": [
            "feminine"
          ],
          "word": "Schnittfuge"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "2 63 16 9 9",
          "code": "de",
          "lang": "German",
          "sense": "the groove or slit cut in the workpiece",
          "tags": [
            "feminine"
          ],
          "word": "Fuge"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "2 63 16 9 9",
          "code": "it",
          "lang": "Italian",
          "sense": "the groove or slit cut in the workpiece",
          "tags": [
            "feminine"
          ],
          "word": "intaccatura"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "2 63 16 9 9",
          "code": "ru",
          "lang": "Russian",
          "roman": "zarúbka",
          "sense": "the groove or slit cut in the workpiece",
          "tags": [
            "feminine"
          ],
          "word": "зару́бка"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "2 63 16 9 9",
          "code": "ru",
          "lang": "Russian",
          "roman": "nadrúb",
          "sense": "the groove or slit cut in the workpiece",
          "tags": [
            "masculine"
          ],
          "word": "надру́б"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "2 63 16 9 9",
          "code": "ru",
          "lang": "Russian",
          "roman": "propíl",
          "sense": "the groove or slit cut in the workpiece",
          "tags": [
            "masculine"
          ],
          "word": "пропи́л"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "2 63 16 9 9",
          "code": "sl",
          "lang": "Slovene",
          "sense": "the groove or slit cut in the workpiece",
          "word": "(u)rez"
        }
      ]
    },
    {
      "examples": [
        {
          "text": "1991, Popular Mechanics, January issue, page 63, \"Thin-kerf blades\", by Rosario Capotostro\nSawing with a thin-kerf blade produces a kerf that's 1/2 to 1/3 the size of a standard blade kerf."
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "The portion or quantity (e.g. of wood, hay, turf, wool, etc.) removed or cut off in a given stroke."
      ],
      "id": "en-kerf-en-noun-2z84ssip",
      "links": [
        [
          "wood",
          "wood"
        ],
        [
          "hay",
          "hay"
        ],
        [
          "turf",
          "turf"
        ],
        [
          "wool",
          "wool"
        ]
      ]
    },
    {
      "categories": [
        {
          "_dis": "1 13 5 42 30 10",
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "English entries with incorrect language header",
          "parents": [
            "Entries with incorrect language header",
            "Entry maintenance"
          ],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        }
      ],
      "examples": [
        {
          "text": "1991, Popular Mechanics, January issue, page 63, \"Thin-kerf blades\", by Rosario Capotostro\nSawing with a thin-kerf blade produces a kerf that's 1/2 to 1/3 the size of a standard blade kerf."
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "The distance between diverging saw teeth."
      ],
      "id": "en-kerf-en-noun-F5O7eh9X",
      "links": [
        [
          "diverging",
          "diverge"
        ],
        [
          "saw",
          "saw"
        ],
        [
          "teeth",
          "teeth"
        ]
      ],
      "translations": [
        {
          "_dis1": "0 3 1 89 6",
          "code": "fi",
          "lang": "Finnish",
          "sense": "distance between diverging saw teeth",
          "word": "uurros"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "0 3 1 89 6",
          "code": "fr",
          "lang": "French",
          "sense": "distance between diverging saw teeth",
          "word": "voie"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "0 3 1 89 6",
          "code": "de",
          "lang": "German",
          "sense": "distance between diverging saw teeth",
          "tags": [
            "feminine"
          ],
          "word": "Schränkung"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "0 3 1 89 6",
          "code": "sl",
          "lang": "Slovene",
          "sense": "distance between diverging saw teeth",
          "word": "zareza"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "0 3 1 89 6",
          "code": "sl",
          "lang": "Slovene",
          "sense": "distance between diverging saw teeth",
          "word": "širina reza žage"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "0 3 1 89 6",
          "code": "es",
          "lang": "Spanish",
          "sense": "distance between diverging saw teeth",
          "tags": [
            "feminine"
          ],
          "word": "traba"
        }
      ]
    },
    {
      "categories": [],
      "examples": [
        {
          "ref": "1941, Vladimir Nabokov, The Real Life of Sebastian Knight, Penguin 1971 edition, page 115",
          "text": "Sebastian, still not alone, is seated on the white-and-cinder-grey trunk of a felled tree. […] A Camberwell Beauty skims past and settles on the kerf, fanning its velvety wings.",
          "type": "quotation"
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "The flattened, cut-off end of a branch or tree; a stump or sawn-off cross-section."
      ],
      "id": "en-kerf-en-noun-yGm9~10U",
      "links": [
        [
          "branch",
          "branch"
        ],
        [
          "tree",
          "tree"
        ],
        [
          "stump",
          "stump"
        ]
      ]
    }
  ],
  "sounds": [
    {
      "ipa": "/kɜː(ɹ)f/"
    },
    {
      "rhymes": "-ɜː(ɹ)f"
    },
    {
      "audio": "en-us-kerf.ogg",
      "mp3_url": "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/transcoded/d/df/En-us-kerf.ogg/En-us-kerf.ogg.mp3",
      "ogg_url": "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/df/En-us-kerf.ogg",
      "tags": [
        "US"
      ],
      "text": "Audio (US)"
    }
  ],
  "word": "kerf"
}

{
  "etymology_templates": [
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "enm",
        "3": "kerf"
      },
      "expansion": "Middle English kerf",
      "name": "inh"
    },
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "enm",
        "2": "kirf"
      },
      "expansion": "kirf",
      "name": "m"
    },
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "enm",
        "2": "kyrf"
      },
      "expansion": "kyrf",
      "name": "m"
    },
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "ang",
        "3": "cyrf",
        "t": "an act of cutting, a cutting off; a cutting instrument"
      },
      "expansion": "Old English cyrf (“an act of cutting, a cutting off; a cutting instrument”)",
      "name": "inh"
    },
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "gmw-pro",
        "3": "*kurbi"
      },
      "expansion": "Proto-West Germanic *kurbi",
      "name": "inh"
    },
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "gem-pro",
        "3": "*kurbiz",
        "t": "a cut; notch; clipping"
      },
      "expansion": "Proto-Germanic *kurbiz (“a cut; notch; clipping”)",
      "name": "inh"
    },
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "ine-pro",
        "3": "*gerbʰ-",
        "t": "to scratch"
      },
      "expansion": "Proto-Indo-European *gerbʰ- (“to scratch”)",
      "name": "der"
    },
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "stq",
        "2": "Käärf"
      },
      "expansion": "Saterland Frisian Käärf",
      "name": "cog"
    },
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "fy",
        "2": "kerf"
      },
      "expansion": "West Frisian kerf",
      "name": "cog"
    },
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "sv",
        "2": "korv"
      },
      "expansion": "Swedish korv",
      "name": "cog"
    },
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "nl",
        "2": "kerf"
      },
      "expansion": "Dutch kerf",
      "name": "cog"
    },
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "nds-de",
        "2": "Karve"
      },
      "expansion": "German Low German Karve",
      "name": "cog"
    },
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "nds-de",
        "2": "Karv"
      },
      "expansion": "Karv",
      "name": "m"
    },
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "de",
        "2": "Kerbe"
      },
      "expansion": "German Kerbe",
      "name": "cog"
    }
  ],
  "etymology_text": "From Middle English kerf, kirf, kyrf, from Old English cyrf (“an act of cutting, a cutting off; a cutting instrument”), from Proto-West Germanic *kurbi, from Proto-Germanic *kurbiz (“a cut; notch; clipping”), from Proto-Indo-European *gerbʰ- (“to scratch”). Cognate with Saterland Frisian Käärf, West Frisian kerf, Swedish korv. Related also to Dutch kerf, German Low German Karve, Karv, German Kerbe.",
  "forms": [
    {
      "form": "kerfs",
      "tags": [
        "present",
        "singular",
        "third-person"
      ]
    },
    {
      "form": "kerfing",
      "tags": [
        "participle",
        "present"
      ]
    },
    {
      "form": "kerfed",
      "tags": [
        "participle",
        "past"
      ]
    },
    {
      "form": "kerfed",
      "tags": [
        "past"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "head_templates": [
    {
      "args": {},
      "expansion": "kerf (third-person singular simple present kerfs, present participle kerfing, simple past and past participle kerfed)",
      "name": "en-verb"
    }
  ],
  "lang": "English",
  "lang_code": "en",
  "pos": "verb",
  "senses": [
    {
      "glosses": [
        "To cut a piece of wood or other material with several kerfs to allow it to be bent."
      ],
      "id": "en-kerf-en-verb-FHg-HlYK"
    }
  ],
  "sounds": [
    {
      "ipa": "/kɜː(ɹ)f/"
    },
    {
      "rhymes": "-ɜː(ɹ)f"
    },
    {
      "audio": "en-us-kerf.ogg",
      "mp3_url": "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/transcoded/d/df/En-us-kerf.ogg/En-us-kerf.ogg.mp3",
      "ogg_url": "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/df/En-us-kerf.ogg",
      "tags": [
        "US"
      ],
      "text": "Audio (US)"
    }
  ],
  "word": "kerf"
}
{
  "categories": [
    "English 1-syllable words",
    "English countable nouns",
    "English entries with incorrect language header",
    "English lemmas",
    "English nouns",
    "English terms derived from Middle English",
    "English terms derived from Old English",
    "English terms derived from Proto-Germanic",
    "English terms derived from Proto-Indo-European",
    "English terms derived from Proto-West Germanic",
    "English terms inherited from Middle English",
    "English terms inherited from Old English",
    "English terms inherited from Proto-Germanic",
    "English terms inherited from Proto-West Germanic",
    "English terms with IPA pronunciation",
    "English terms with audio links",
    "English verbs",
    "Middle English entries with incorrect language header",
    "Middle English lemmas",
    "Middle English nouns",
    "Middle English terms derived from Old English",
    "Middle English terms derived from Proto-Germanic",
    "Middle English terms derived from Proto-West Germanic",
    "Middle English terms inherited from Old English",
    "Middle English terms inherited from Proto-Germanic",
    "Middle English terms inherited from Proto-West Germanic",
    "Middle English terms with IPA pronunciation",
    "Requests for review of Russian translations",
    "Rhymes:English/ɜː(ɹ)f",
    "Rhymes:English/ɜː(ɹ)f/1 syllable"
  ],
  "etymology_templates": [
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "enm",
        "3": "kerf"
      },
      "expansion": "Middle English kerf",
      "name": "inh"
    },
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "enm",
        "2": "kirf"
      },
      "expansion": "kirf",
      "name": "m"
    },
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "enm",
        "2": "kyrf"
      },
      "expansion": "kyrf",
      "name": "m"
    },
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "ang",
        "3": "cyrf",
        "t": "an act of cutting, a cutting off; a cutting instrument"
      },
      "expansion": "Old English cyrf (“an act of cutting, a cutting off; a cutting instrument”)",
      "name": "inh"
    },
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "gmw-pro",
        "3": "*kurbi"
      },
      "expansion": "Proto-West Germanic *kurbi",
      "name": "inh"
    },
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "gem-pro",
        "3": "*kurbiz",
        "t": "a cut; notch; clipping"
      },
      "expansion": "Proto-Germanic *kurbiz (“a cut; notch; clipping”)",
      "name": "inh"
    },
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "ine-pro",
        "3": "*gerbʰ-",
        "t": "to scratch"
      },
      "expansion": "Proto-Indo-European *gerbʰ- (“to scratch”)",
      "name": "der"
    },
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "stq",
        "2": "Käärf"
      },
      "expansion": "Saterland Frisian Käärf",
      "name": "cog"
    },
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "fy",
        "2": "kerf"
      },
      "expansion": "West Frisian kerf",
      "name": "cog"
    },
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "sv",
        "2": "korv"
      },
      "expansion": "Swedish korv",
      "name": "cog"
    },
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "nl",
        "2": "kerf"
      },
      "expansion": "Dutch kerf",
      "name": "cog"
    },
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "nds-de",
        "2": "Karve"
      },
      "expansion": "German Low German Karve",
      "name": "cog"
    },
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "nds-de",
        "2": "Karv"
      },
      "expansion": "Karv",
      "name": "m"
    },
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "de",
        "2": "Kerbe"
      },
      "expansion": "German Kerbe",
      "name": "cog"
    }
  ],
  "etymology_text": "From Middle English kerf, kirf, kyrf, from Old English cyrf (“an act of cutting, a cutting off; a cutting instrument”), from Proto-West Germanic *kurbi, from Proto-Germanic *kurbiz (“a cut; notch; clipping”), from Proto-Indo-European *gerbʰ- (“to scratch”). Cognate with Saterland Frisian Käärf, West Frisian kerf, Swedish korv. Related also to Dutch kerf, German Low German Karve, Karv, German Kerbe.",
  "forms": [
    {
      "form": "kerfs",
      "tags": [
        "plural"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "head_templates": [
    {
      "args": {},
      "expansion": "kerf (plural kerfs)",
      "name": "en-noun"
    }
  ],
  "lang": "English",
  "lang_code": "en",
  "pos": "noun",
  "related": [
    {
      "word": "carve"
    },
    {
      "word": "swarf"
    }
  ],
  "senses": [
    {
      "categories": [
        "English terms with rare senses"
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "The act of cutting or carving something; a stroke or slice."
      ],
      "links": [
        [
          "cutting",
          "cutting"
        ],
        [
          "carving",
          "carving"
        ],
        [
          "stroke",
          "stroke"
        ],
        [
          "slice",
          "slice"
        ]
      ],
      "raw_glosses": [
        "(now rare) The act of cutting or carving something; a stroke or slice."
      ],
      "tags": [
        "archaic"
      ]
    },
    {
      "categories": [
        "English terms with quotations"
      ],
      "examples": [
        {
          "ref": "1999, Neal Stephenson, Cryptonomicon",
          "text": "They pass through a cleft that has been made across a low range of hills, like a kerf in the top of a log, and enter into a lovely territory of subtly swelling emerald green fields strewn randomly with small white capsules that he takes to be sheep.",
          "type": "quotation"
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "The groove or slit created by cutting or sawing something; an incision."
      ],
      "links": [
        [
          "groove",
          "groove"
        ],
        [
          "slit",
          "slit"
        ],
        [
          "incision",
          "incision"
        ]
      ]
    },
    {
      "examples": [
        {
          "text": "1991, Popular Mechanics, January issue, page 63, \"Thin-kerf blades\", by Rosario Capotostro\nSawing with a thin-kerf blade produces a kerf that's 1/2 to 1/3 the size of a standard blade kerf."
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "The portion or quantity (e.g. of wood, hay, turf, wool, etc.) removed or cut off in a given stroke."
      ],
      "links": [
        [
          "wood",
          "wood"
        ],
        [
          "hay",
          "hay"
        ],
        [
          "turf",
          "turf"
        ],
        [
          "wool",
          "wool"
        ]
      ]
    },
    {
      "examples": [
        {
          "text": "1991, Popular Mechanics, January issue, page 63, \"Thin-kerf blades\", by Rosario Capotostro\nSawing with a thin-kerf blade produces a kerf that's 1/2 to 1/3 the size of a standard blade kerf."
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "The distance between diverging saw teeth."
      ],
      "links": [
        [
          "diverging",
          "diverge"
        ],
        [
          "saw",
          "saw"
        ],
        [
          "teeth",
          "teeth"
        ]
      ]
    },
    {
      "categories": [
        "English terms with quotations"
      ],
      "examples": [
        {
          "ref": "1941, Vladimir Nabokov, The Real Life of Sebastian Knight, Penguin 1971 edition, page 115",
          "text": "Sebastian, still not alone, is seated on the white-and-cinder-grey trunk of a felled tree. […] A Camberwell Beauty skims past and settles on the kerf, fanning its velvety wings.",
          "type": "quotation"
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "The flattened, cut-off end of a branch or tree; a stump or sawn-off cross-section."
      ],
      "links": [
        [
          "branch",
          "branch"
        ],
        [
          "tree",
          "tree"
        ],
        [
          "stump",
          "stump"
        ]
      ]
    }
  ],
  "sounds": [
    {
      "ipa": "/kɜː(ɹ)f/"
    },
    {
      "rhymes": "-ɜː(ɹ)f"
    },
    {
      "audio": "en-us-kerf.ogg",
      "mp3_url": "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/transcoded/d/df/En-us-kerf.ogg/En-us-kerf.ogg.mp3",
      "ogg_url": "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/df/En-us-kerf.ogg",
      "tags": [
        "US"
      ],
      "text": "Audio (US)"
    }
  ],
  "translations": [
    {
      "code": "bg",
      "lang": "Bulgarian",
      "roman": "rjazka",
      "sense": "the groove or slit cut in the workpiece",
      "tags": [
        "feminine"
      ],
      "word": "рязка"
    },
    {
      "code": "fi",
      "lang": "Finnish",
      "sense": "the groove or slit cut in the workpiece",
      "word": "lovi"
    },
    {
      "code": "fi",
      "lang": "Finnish",
      "sense": "the groove or slit cut in the workpiece",
      "word": "uurros"
    },
    {
      "code": "de",
      "lang": "German",
      "sense": "the groove or slit cut in the workpiece",
      "tags": [
        "masculine"
      ],
      "word": "Einschnitt"
    },
    {
      "code": "de",
      "lang": "German",
      "sense": "the groove or slit cut in the workpiece",
      "tags": [
        "feminine"
      ],
      "word": "Kerbe"
    },
    {
      "code": "de",
      "lang": "German",
      "sense": "the groove or slit cut in the workpiece",
      "tags": [
        "feminine"
      ],
      "word": "Nut"
    },
    {
      "code": "de",
      "lang": "German",
      "sense": "the groove or slit cut in the workpiece",
      "tags": [
        "masculine"
      ],
      "word": "Schlitz"
    },
    {
      "code": "de",
      "lang": "German",
      "sense": "the groove or slit cut in the workpiece",
      "tags": [
        "feminine"
      ],
      "word": "Schnittfuge"
    },
    {
      "code": "de",
      "lang": "German",
      "sense": "the groove or slit cut in the workpiece",
      "tags": [
        "feminine"
      ],
      "word": "Fuge"
    },
    {
      "code": "it",
      "lang": "Italian",
      "sense": "the groove or slit cut in the workpiece",
      "tags": [
        "feminine"
      ],
      "word": "intaccatura"
    },
    {
      "code": "ru",
      "lang": "Russian",
      "roman": "zarúbka",
      "sense": "the groove or slit cut in the workpiece",
      "tags": [
        "feminine"
      ],
      "word": "зару́бка"
    },
    {
      "code": "ru",
      "lang": "Russian",
      "roman": "nadrúb",
      "sense": "the groove or slit cut in the workpiece",
      "tags": [
        "masculine"
      ],
      "word": "надру́б"
    },
    {
      "code": "ru",
      "lang": "Russian",
      "roman": "propíl",
      "sense": "the groove or slit cut in the workpiece",
      "tags": [
        "masculine"
      ],
      "word": "пропи́л"
    },
    {
      "code": "sl",
      "lang": "Slovene",
      "sense": "the groove or slit cut in the workpiece",
      "word": "(u)rez"
    },
    {
      "code": "fi",
      "lang": "Finnish",
      "sense": "distance between diverging saw teeth",
      "word": "uurros"
    },
    {
      "code": "fr",
      "lang": "French",
      "sense": "distance between diverging saw teeth",
      "word": "voie"
    },
    {
      "code": "de",
      "lang": "German",
      "sense": "distance between diverging saw teeth",
      "tags": [
        "feminine"
      ],
      "word": "Schränkung"
    },
    {
      "code": "sl",
      "lang": "Slovene",
      "sense": "distance between diverging saw teeth",
      "word": "zareza"
    },
    {
      "code": "sl",
      "lang": "Slovene",
      "sense": "distance between diverging saw teeth",
      "word": "širina reza žage"
    },
    {
      "code": "es",
      "lang": "Spanish",
      "sense": "distance between diverging saw teeth",
      "tags": [
        "feminine"
      ],
      "word": "traba"
    }
  ],
  "word": "kerf"
}

{
  "categories": [
    "English 1-syllable words",
    "English countable nouns",
    "English entries with incorrect language header",
    "English lemmas",
    "English nouns",
    "English terms derived from Middle English",
    "English terms derived from Old English",
    "English terms derived from Proto-Germanic",
    "English terms derived from Proto-Indo-European",
    "English terms derived from Proto-West Germanic",
    "English terms inherited from Middle English",
    "English terms inherited from Old English",
    "English terms inherited from Proto-Germanic",
    "English terms inherited from Proto-West Germanic",
    "English terms with IPA pronunciation",
    "English terms with audio links",
    "English verbs",
    "Middle English entries with incorrect language header",
    "Middle English lemmas",
    "Middle English nouns",
    "Middle English terms derived from Old English",
    "Middle English terms derived from Proto-Germanic",
    "Middle English terms derived from Proto-West Germanic",
    "Middle English terms inherited from Old English",
    "Middle English terms inherited from Proto-Germanic",
    "Middle English terms inherited from Proto-West Germanic",
    "Middle English terms with IPA pronunciation",
    "Requests for review of Russian translations",
    "Rhymes:English/ɜː(ɹ)f",
    "Rhymes:English/ɜː(ɹ)f/1 syllable"
  ],
  "etymology_templates": [
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "enm",
        "3": "kerf"
      },
      "expansion": "Middle English kerf",
      "name": "inh"
    },
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "enm",
        "2": "kirf"
      },
      "expansion": "kirf",
      "name": "m"
    },
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "enm",
        "2": "kyrf"
      },
      "expansion": "kyrf",
      "name": "m"
    },
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "ang",
        "3": "cyrf",
        "t": "an act of cutting, a cutting off; a cutting instrument"
      },
      "expansion": "Old English cyrf (“an act of cutting, a cutting off; a cutting instrument”)",
      "name": "inh"
    },
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "gmw-pro",
        "3": "*kurbi"
      },
      "expansion": "Proto-West Germanic *kurbi",
      "name": "inh"
    },
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "gem-pro",
        "3": "*kurbiz",
        "t": "a cut; notch; clipping"
      },
      "expansion": "Proto-Germanic *kurbiz (“a cut; notch; clipping”)",
      "name": "inh"
    },
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "ine-pro",
        "3": "*gerbʰ-",
        "t": "to scratch"
      },
      "expansion": "Proto-Indo-European *gerbʰ- (“to scratch”)",
      "name": "der"
    },
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "stq",
        "2": "Käärf"
      },
      "expansion": "Saterland Frisian Käärf",
      "name": "cog"
    },
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "fy",
        "2": "kerf"
      },
      "expansion": "West Frisian kerf",
      "name": "cog"
    },
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "sv",
        "2": "korv"
      },
      "expansion": "Swedish korv",
      "name": "cog"
    },
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "nl",
        "2": "kerf"
      },
      "expansion": "Dutch kerf",
      "name": "cog"
    },
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "nds-de",
        "2": "Karve"
      },
      "expansion": "German Low German Karve",
      "name": "cog"
    },
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "nds-de",
        "2": "Karv"
      },
      "expansion": "Karv",
      "name": "m"
    },
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "de",
        "2": "Kerbe"
      },
      "expansion": "German Kerbe",
      "name": "cog"
    }
  ],
  "etymology_text": "From Middle English kerf, kirf, kyrf, from Old English cyrf (“an act of cutting, a cutting off; a cutting instrument”), from Proto-West Germanic *kurbi, from Proto-Germanic *kurbiz (“a cut; notch; clipping”), from Proto-Indo-European *gerbʰ- (“to scratch”). Cognate with Saterland Frisian Käärf, West Frisian kerf, Swedish korv. Related also to Dutch kerf, German Low German Karve, Karv, German Kerbe.",
  "forms": [
    {
      "form": "kerfs",
      "tags": [
        "present",
        "singular",
        "third-person"
      ]
    },
    {
      "form": "kerfing",
      "tags": [
        "participle",
        "present"
      ]
    },
    {
      "form": "kerfed",
      "tags": [
        "participle",
        "past"
      ]
    },
    {
      "form": "kerfed",
      "tags": [
        "past"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "head_templates": [
    {
      "args": {},
      "expansion": "kerf (third-person singular simple present kerfs, present participle kerfing, simple past and past participle kerfed)",
      "name": "en-verb"
    }
  ],
  "lang": "English",
  "lang_code": "en",
  "pos": "verb",
  "senses": [
    {
      "glosses": [
        "To cut a piece of wood or other material with several kerfs to allow it to be bent."
      ]
    }
  ],
  "sounds": [
    {
      "ipa": "/kɜː(ɹ)f/"
    },
    {
      "rhymes": "-ɜː(ɹ)f"
    },
    {
      "audio": "en-us-kerf.ogg",
      "mp3_url": "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/transcoded/d/df/En-us-kerf.ogg/En-us-kerf.ogg.mp3",
      "ogg_url": "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/df/En-us-kerf.ogg",
      "tags": [
        "US"
      ],
      "text": "Audio (US)"
    }
  ],
  "word": "kerf"
}

This page is a part of the kaikki.org machine-readable English dictionary. This dictionary is based on structured data extracted on 2024-05-10 from the enwiktionary dump dated 2024-05-02 using wiktextract (a644e18 and edd475d). The data shown on this site has been post-processed and various details (e.g., extra categories) removed, some information disambiguated, and additional data merged from other sources. See the raw data download page for the unprocessed wiktextract data.

If you use this data in academic research, please cite Tatu Ylonen: Wiktextract: Wiktionary as Machine-Readable Structured Data, Proceedings of the 13th Conference on Language Resources and Evaluation (LREC), pp. 1317-1325, Marseille, 20-25 June 2022. Linking to the relevant page(s) under https://kaikki.org would also be greatly appreciated.