[Love] rules the creatures by his powerful saw.
Spenser.
Saw, n. [OE. sawe, AS. sage; akin to D. zaag, G. säge, OHG. sega, saga,
Dan. sav, Sw. såg, Icel. sög, L. secare to cut, securis ax, secula
sickle. Cf. Scythe, Sickle, Section, Sedge.] An instrument for cutting
or dividing substances, as wood, iron, etc., consisting of a thin
blade, or plate, of steel, with a series of sharp teeth on the edge,
which remove successive portions of the material by cutting and
tearing.
Saw is frequently used adjectively, or as the first part of a compound.
Band saw, Crosscut saw, etc. See under Band, Crosscut, etc. -- Circular
saw, a disk of steel with saw teeth upon its periphery, and revolved on
an arbor. -- Saw bench, a bench or table with a flat top for for
sawing, especially with a circular saw which projects above the table.
-- Saw file, a three-cornered file, such as is used for sharpening saw
teeth. -- Saw frame, the frame or sash in a sawmill, in which the saw,
or gang of saws, is held. -- Saw gate, a saw frame. -- Saw gin, the
form of cotton gin invented by Eli Whitney, in which the cotton fibers
are drawn, by the teeth of a set of revolving circular saws, through a
wire grating which is too fine for the seeds to pass. -- Saw grass
(Bot.), any one of certain cyperaceous plants having the edges of the
leaves set with minute sharp teeth, especially the Cladium Mariscus of
Europe, and the Cladium effusum of the Southern United States. Cf.
Razor grass, under Razor. -- Saw log, a log of suitable size for sawing
into lumber. -- Saw mandrel, a mandrel on which a circular saw is
fastened for running. -- Saw pit, a pit over which timbor is sawed by
two men, one standing below the timber and the other above. Mortimer.
-- Saw sharpener (Zoöl.), the great titmouse; -- so named from its
harsh call note. [Prov. Eng.] -- Saw whetter (Zoöl.), the marsh
titmouse (Parus palustris); -- so named from its call note. [Prov.
Eng.] -- Scroll saw, a ribbon of steel with saw teeth upon one edge,
stretched in a frame and adapted for sawing curved outlines; also, a
machine in which such a saw is worked by foot or power.
Saw (?), v. t. [imp. Sawed (?); p. p. Sawed or Sawn (&?;); p. pr. & vb.
n. Sawing.] 1. To cut with a saw; to separate with a saw; as, to saw
timber or marble.
2. To form by cutting with a saw; as, to saw boards or planks, that is,
to saw logs or timber into boards or planks; to saw shingles; to saw
out a panel.