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cutting

(Encyclopedia)cutting, in horticulture, part of a plant stem, leaf, or root cut off and used for producing a new plant. It is a convenient and inexpensive method of propagation, not possible for all plants but used...

Flagg, Azariah Cutting

(Encyclopedia)Flagg, Azariah Cutting, 1790–1873, American political leader, b. Orwell, Vt. He fought in the War of 1812, was editor of the Plattsburgh (N.Y.) Republican until 1825, and was elected (1823) to the N...

adze

(Encyclopedia)adze, tool similar in purpose and use to an axe but with the cutting edge at right angles to the handle rather than aligned with it. The details of construction of a particular adze will depend on its...

cutlery

(Encyclopedia)cutlery, various types of implements for cutting, preparing, and eating food. In addition to different kinds of knives and the steels to sharpen them, the term usually encompasses forks and spoons. Th...

lathe

(Encyclopedia)lathe lāᵺ [key], machine tool for holding and turning metal, wood, plastic, or other material against a cutting tool to form a cylindrical product or part. It also drills, bores, polishes, grinds, ...

abbreviation

(Encyclopedia)abbreviation, in writing, arbitrary shortening of a word, usually by cutting off letters from the end, as in U.S. and Gen. (General). Contraction serves the same purpose but is understood ...

drill, tool

(Encyclopedia)drill, tool used to create a hole, usually in some hard substance, by its rotary or hammering action. Many different tools make up the drill family. The awl is a pointed instrument used for piercing s...

mayhem

(Encyclopedia)mayhem māˈhĕm, māˈəm [key], in common law, the crime of willfully injuring a person so as to diminish his or her capacity for self-defense. Cutting off an arm or leg would thus be mayhem, while ...

tonsure

(Encyclopedia)tonsure tŏnˈshər [key] [Lat.,=to shave], formerly, practice in some Christian churches of cutting some of the hair from the scalp of clerics. In the West the tonsure consisted of a circular patch o...

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