Handsaw

noun

noun ·2 syllables ·Rare ·Advanced level

Definitions

Noun
  1. 1
    A saw small enough to be used by one hand.
  2. 2
    A heron. obsolete

    "When the wind is southerly, I know a hawk from a handsaw."

  3. 3
    a saw used with one hand for cutting wood wordnet

Synonyms

All synonyms
carpenter's sawhand sawsaw

Example

More examples

"I am but mad north-north-west. When the wind is southerly, I know a hawk from a handsaw."

Etymology

Etymology 1

From Middle English handsawe, handsagh, equivalent to hand + saw. Cognate with West Frisian hânseage (“handsaw”), Dutch handzaag (“handsaw”), German Handsäge (“handsaw”), Danish håndsav (“handsaw”), Swedish handsåg (“handsaw”), Icelandic handsög (“handsaw”).

Etymology 2

Corruption of heronshaw.

More for "handsaw"

SynonymsSentencesPronunciationTranslate

Next best steps

Find stronger synonymsSee usage examplesCheck pronunciationBrowse writing guides

Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.