tooln.
/tuːl/, U.S. /tul/ 1. † c. The cutting part of a knife, the blade. Obsolete.
a. ‘Any instrument of manual operation’ (Johnson); a mechanical implement for working upon something, as by cutting, striking, rubbing, or other process, in any manual art or industry; usually, one held in and operated directly by the hand (or fixed in position, as in a lathe), but also including certain simple machines, as the lathe; sometimes extended to simple instruments of other kinds, as in quot. 1893. See also edge-tool n.
ΘΚΠ
society > occupation and work > equipment > tool > [noun]
toolc888
loomc900
ginc1300
instrumentc1392
machinamentc1425
work-loomc1425
oustil1477
mistera1525
appliance1565
device1570
utensil1604
conveniency1660
contrivance1667
ruler1692
machine1707
implements1767
dial1839
dog1859
c888 Ælfred tr. Boethius De Consol. Philos. xiv. §1 Þæt mete and drync & claðas, & tol to swelcum cræfte.
c1000 Ælfric Exodus xx. 25 Gif þu þin tol ahefst ofer hyt, hit biþ besmiten.
a1100 Gerefa in Anglia (1886) 9 262 He sceal fela tola to tune tilian.
c1275 (?a1200) Laȝamon Brut (Calig.) (1978) l. 14599 Nettes..and þa tolen þer-to.
a1400–50 Alexander 4708 A pelare of marble Quare-on a tulke wiþ a toile þis titill vp he wrate.
c1400 (?c1380) Cleanness l. 1342 Formed with handes Wyth tool out of harde tre, & telded on lofte.
c1440 York Myst. xxxiv. 298 I warand all redy Oure tooles bothe lesse and more.
1497 in M. Oppenheim Naval Accts. & Inventories Henry VII (1896) 89 Carpenters toles..j chest.
1501 in S. Tymms Wills & Inventories Bury St. Edmunds (1850) 84 To..Margarett my wyff all my stuff of houshold..excepte my werkyng toole, weche I wyll that John my sone haue.
1570 P. Levens Manipulus Vocabulorum sig. Riv/1 A Toyle, instrumentum.
1573 T. Tusser Fiue Hundreth Points Good Husbandry (new ed.) f. 13 Fewe lends but fooles, their working tooles.
1597 in F. Collins Wills & Admin. Knaresborough Court Rolls (1902) I. 207 One lowme with the towles yr unto belonginge.
a1660 in J. T. Gilbert Contemp. Hist. Ireland (1880) II. 172 All theire bagage, tooells, and instruments.
1667 J. Milton Paradise Lost xi. 572 Moulds..from which he formd First his own Tooles . View more context for this quotation
1707 E. Ward Wooden World Dissected 62 His [sc. the Surgeon's] Tools are of various sorts and sizes.
1819 Ld. Byron Don Juan: Canto I cci. 103 Good workmen never quarrel with their tools.
1877 E. H. Knight Pract. Dict. Mech. (at cited word) Of late it has become usual to embrace in the general term machine tools, such machines as the lathe, planer, slotting-machine, and others employed in the manufacture of machinery.
1893 J. A. Hodges Elem. Photogr. (1907) 22 The anastigmat [lens] will..prove the more useful tool.
b.
(a) A weapon of war, esp. a sword. archaic.
ΘΚΠ
society > armed hostility > military equipment > weapon > [noun]
weaponc930
toolc1386
instrument?a1475
armament1741
equalizer1931
society > armed hostility > military equipment > weapon > sharp weapon > side arms > sword > [noun]
sword971
brandOE
edgeOE
ironOE
brandelletc1325
garec1330
toolc1386
brank1480
tranchefera1533
flatchet1577
Morglay1582
smiter1591
brandiron1596
Toledo1601
machaira1614
spit-frog1615
toasting-irona1616
spit1642
bilbo1676
porker1688
tilter1688
degen1699
spurtlec1700
toaster1751
toasting-fork1807
slasher1815
cheese-cutter1824
khanda1825
cheese-toaster1858
windlestraw1895
c1000 Ags. Gloss. in Haupt's Zeitschrift IX. 424 Instrumenta bellica, wiglice tol.]
c1386 G. Chaucer Nun's Priest's Tale 96 We alle desiren..no fool Ne hym þat is agast of euery tool.
?a1400 Morte Arth. 3617 The toppe-castelles he stuffede with toyelys, as hyme lykyde.
c1540 (?a1400) Destr. Troy 938 Iason..gryppet a grym toole, gyrd of his hede.
1599 W. Shakespeare Romeo & Juliet i. i. 31 Draw thy toole, here comes of the house of Mountagues. View more context for this quotation
a1669 H. Foulis Hist. Romish Treasons (1671) v. iv. 303 Pope John XXII..pulls out his tools against Lewes.
1707 E. Ward Wooden World Dissected 63 He's somewhat prouder of that long Tool of his, that hangs without board.
1821 W. Scott Kenilworth I. iv. 87 Draw thy tool, man, and after him.
(b) Hence in Criminals' slang, any weapon.
ΘΚΠ
society > armed hostility > military equipment > weapon > [noun] > collective or plural
weaponc825
armsa1275
i-wepenc1275
tacklec1400
arming1431
tackling1529
militia1656
arms of offence1692
weaponry1844
hardware1855
tool1938
1938 F. D. Sharpe Sharpe of Flying Squad xix. 209 ‘Here they are, boys; get your tools ready.’.. As they ran they pulled weapons from under their coats, hatchets, knuckle-dusters, hammers, and bars of iron.
1971 J. Mandelkau Buttons i. 28 We grabbed our tools and by then the Mods were at the bottom of the street.
ΘΚΠ
society > occupation and work > equipment > cutting tool > knife > [noun] > blade
blade1330
tool1653
knife-blade1738
1653 T. Urquhart tr. F. Rabelais 1st Bk. Wks. xxvii. 129 Little hulchback't demi-knives, the iron toole whereof is two inches long, and the wooden handle one inch thick.
d. spec. in technical use: (a) Bookbinding. A small stamp or roller used for impressing an ornamental design upon leather book-covers: cf. tooling n. 2b (b) A large kind of chisel. (c) A generic name for any kind of paint-brush used by house-painters or decorators; also, a large brush used by picture-painters. (d) An abbreviated form of grafting-tool, etc.
ΘΚΠ
society > occupation and work > equipment > cutting tool > chisel > [noun] > for cutting stone or brick
tool1727
point1728
drove1825
prick1837
boaster1842
bolster1908
(a)
(b)1815 J. Smith Panorama Sci. & Art I. 218 The larger sizes of chisels obtain the name of tools, the act of using them is called tooling, and the stone to which they have been applied is said to be tooled.1823 P. Nicholson New Pract. Builder 341 Of the two kinds of chisels..the tool is the largest.1842 J. Gwilt Encycl. Archit. ii. iii. 518 The tools used to work the face of a stone are, successively, the point, the inch tool, the boaster..and the broad tool.1842 J. Gwilt Encycl. Archit. Gloss. 1046 Tools, instruments used..for the reduction of any material.(c)1859 T. J. Gullick & J. Timbs Painting 198 The larger brushes..made of hog-hair..are called ‘tools’.1860 G. W. S. Piesse Lab. Chem. Wonders 153 A painter calls a paint-brush ‘a tool’.1727–41 E. Chambers Cycl. (at cited word) To apply the gold, they glaze those parts of the leather, whereon the tools are to be applied, lightly over [etc.].
1738 E. Chambers Cycl. (ed. 2) (at cited word) Book-Binding, These ornaments are made with each its several gilding iron engraven in relievo.
1837 N. Whittock et al. Compl. Bk. Trades (1842) 37 [article Bookbinder] The tools that produce the figures or letters are applied hot.
1895 J. W. Zaehnsdorf Short Hist. Bookbinding 13 He cut most of these tools himself,..because he could not find a tool cutter of sufficient skill.
e. †to go off the tool: to leave the workman's hands (obsolete).
ΚΠ
1665 J. Webb Vindic. Stone-Heng (1725) 44 The outward Course of Stones..appear not so smooth, and neat, as when first they went off the Tool.
2. figurative.
a. Anything used in the manner of a tool; a thing (concrete or abstract) with which some operation is performed; a means of effecting something; an instrument.
ΘΚΠ
the world > action or operation > advantage > usefulness > use (made of things) > instrumentality > [noun] > (a) means
keyOE
toolc1000
wherewithc1230
ministerc1380
meanc1390
instrumenta1425
organ?a1425
mesne1447
moyen1449
handlec1450
hackneya1500
receipta1500
operative1526
ingine1531
appliance1555
agent1579
matter1580
mids1581
wedge1581
wherewithal1583
shoeing-horn1587
engine1589
instrumental1598
Roaring Meg1598
procurement1601
organy1605
vehicle1615
vehiculuma1617
executioner1646
facility1652
operatory1660
instrumentality1663
expedient1665
agency1684
bladea1713
mechanic1924
mechanism1924
c1000 Eccles. Inst. c. 21 Þis synt þa lara and þa tol gastlices cræftes.
1558 T. Phaer tr. Virgil Seuen First Bks. Eneidos ii. E j b At last Those toles for shift at death extreme, to fend them selfs they cast.
1611 W. Mure Misc. Poems ii. 46 He [Cupid]..left behind his tort'ring toyle [rhyme spoyle; cf. l. 40 Ye bow, ye schafts, ye quaver and ye brace].
1651 T. Hobbes Leviathan ii. xxv. 132 They..make use of Similitudes..and other tooles of Oratory.
1675 N. Grew Disc. conc. Mixture ii. v. 19 As the World, taken together, is Natures Shop; so the Principles of Things, are her Tools, and her Materials.
1749 T. Smollett tr. A. R. Le Sage Gil Blas III. viii. ix. 161 You have (to use the expression of our tennis-court) the universal tool: that is to say, you are qualified for every thing.
1847 L. Hunt Men, Women, & Bks. I. i. 7 Mechanical knowledge is a great and a glorious tool in the hands of man.
1884 B. Price in Contemp. Rev. Mar. 381 Money..is a pure tool—nothing more.
b. A bodily organ; spec. the male generative organ (or plural organs). Now slang. [So Old Norse tól.]
ΘΚΠ
the world > life > the body > sex organs > male sex organs > [noun] > penis
weapona1000
tarsec1000
pintleOE
cock?c1335
pillicock?c1335
yard1379
arrowa1382
looma1400
vergea1400
instrumentc1405
fidcocka1475
privya1500
virile member (or yard)?1541
prickc1555
tool1563
pillock1568
penis1578
codpiece1584
needle1592
bauble1593
dildo1597
nag1598
virility1598
ferret1599
rubigo?a1600
Jack1604
mentula1605
virge1608
prependent1610
flute1611
other thing1628
engine1634
manhood1640
cod1650
quillity1653
rammer1653
runnion1655
pego1663
sex1664
propagator1670
membrum virile1672
nervea1680
whore-pipe1684
Roger1689
pudding1693
handle?1731
machine1749
shaft1772
jock1790
poker1811
dickyc1815
Johnny?1833
organ1833
intromittent apparatus1836
root1846
Johnson1863
Peter1870
John Henry1874
dickc1890
dingusc1890
John Thomasc1890
old fellowc1890
Aaron's rod1891
dingle-dangle1893
middle leg1896
mole1896
pisser1896
micky1898
baby-maker1902
old man1902
pecker1902
pizzle1902
willy1905
ding-dong1906
mickey1909
pencil1916
dingbatc1920
plonkerc1920
Johna1922
whangera1922
knob1922
tube1922
ding1926
pee-pee1927
prong1927
pud1927
hose1928
whang1928
dong1930
putz1934
porkc1935
wiener1935
weenie1939
length1949
tadger1949
winkle1951
dinger1953
winky1954
dork1961
virilia1962
rig1964
wee-wee1964
Percy1965
meat tool1966
chopper1967
schlong1967
swipe1967
chode1968
trouser snake1968
ding-a-ling1969
dipstick1970
tonk1970
noonies1972
salami1977
monkey1978
langer1983
wanker1987
1563 T. Becon Reliques of Rome (rev. ed.) f. 18 All his toles that appertayne vnto the court of Venus.
1623 W. Shakespeare & J. Fletcher Henry VIII v. iii. 33 Or haue wee some strange Indian with the great Toole, come to Court? View more context for this quotation
1687 T. Shadwell tr. Juvenal Tenth Satyr 307 What pleasure can the weak Old Doting Fool, Expect from that infirm and Aged Tool?
1885 R. F. Burton tr. Arabian Nights' Entertainm. III. 7 I was become even as a woman, without manly tool like other men.
1922 J. Joyce Ulysses ii. xii. [Cyclops] 292 The poor bugger's tool that's being hanged.
1966 L. Cohen Beautiful Losers (1970) i. 114 You uncovered his nakedness!—You peeked at his tool!
1971 J. Stewart tr. G. Simenon Rich Man iii. 64 A little slut of a girl..who had not protested when he had put his tool in her hand.
3. figurative.
a. A person used by another for his own ends; one who is, or allows himself to be, made a mere instrument for some purpose; a cat's-paw.
ΘΚΠ
the world > action or operation > advantage > usefulness > use (made of things) > instrumentality > [noun] > (a) means > person as > mere
stale1580
creature1587
puppet1592
motion1602
property1611
looma1650
tool1663
cat's-foot1675
cat's paw1785
paw1824
dummy1866
stooge1937
the mind > mental capacity > knowledge > conformity with what is known, truth > deceit, deception, trickery > cheating, fraud > duping, making a fool of > [noun] > gullible person, dupe > a puppet, tool
poppet1551
puppet1592
property1611
tool1663
cat's-foot1675
cat's paw1785
1663 S. Butler Hudibras: First Pt. i. i. 4 Which made some take him for a tool That Knaves do work with, call'd a Fool.
1688 S. Parker in J. R. Bloxham Magdalen Coll. & James II (1886) (modernized text) 240 To set me here to make me his tool and his prop!
1711 T. Hearne Remarks & Coll. (1889) III. 133 Charlett and his Tools have got Rogers advanc'd.
1769 ‘Junius’ Stat Nominis Umbra (1772) II. xxx. 10 If there be any tool of administration daring enough to deny these facts.
1849 T. B. Macaulay Hist. Eng. I. iv. 494 The sheriffs were the tools of the government.
1874 J. R. Green Short Hist. Eng. People vii. §4. 379 Mary had used Darnley as a tool to effect the ruin of his confederates.
b. (esp. qualified by poor or the like.) An unskilful workman; a shiftless person. slang or dialect.
ΘΚΠ
the world > action or operation > inaction > disinclination to act or listlessness > sloth or laziness > [noun] > lazy person
caynard1303
sluggard1398
luskc1420
slugc1425
truantc1449
dawa1500
hummel?a1513
rook?a1513
wallydraigle?a1513
sloven1523
dronea1529
draw latch1538
slim1548
slouk1570
do-nothing1579
bumbiea1585
do-little1586
lazybones1593
luskin1593
do-naught1594
loiter-sack1594
bed-presser1598
lazy lizard1600
lazy-back1611
fainéant1618
nothing-do1623
trivant1624
slothful1648
lolpoop1661
tool1699
haggis1822
lazy-boots1832
lazy-legs1838
poke1847
never-sweat1851
slob1876
bum1882
haggis bag1892
lollop1896
trouble-shirker1908
warb1933
fuck-off1948
poop-butt1967
the world > action or operation > ability > inability > unskilfulness > [noun] > unskilful action or working > person
blundererc1440
blunt-workerc1440
botcher1440
bumblerc1530
bungler1533
haggler1577
bumbiea1585
tool1699
screw-up1944
foul-up1945
fuck-upc1945
omnishambles2009
1699 B. E. New Dict. Canting Crew Slug, a drone, or dull Tool.
1722 G. Vertue Diary in Notes & Queries (1861) 2nd Ser. XII. 81/1 The organists are poor tools and very deficient.
1863 Mrs. Toogood Specim. Yorks. Dial. (MS.) You are a poor tool, your work is not done as it ought to be.
c. A pickpocket; the member of a pair or team of pickpockets who actually picks pockets; = wire n.1 19.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > possession > taking > stealing or theft > thief > pickpocket or cutpurse > [noun] > pickpocket
fig-boyc1555
foister1585
foist1591
pickpocket1591
bung1600
diver1608
pocket-picker1622
pocketeerc1626
bung-nipper1659
file1673
filer1674
shark1707
hoister1708
knuckle1781
knuckler1801
buzzgloak1819
cly-faker1819
fingersmith1819
knuck1819
fogle hunter1821
buzzman1832
nobbler1839
wire1851
gonoph1853
wirer1857
dip1859
moll-tooler1859
buzzer1862
hook1863
snotter1864
tool1865
pocket-cutter1885
dipper1889
pogue-hunter1896
pick1902
finger1925
whizz1925
whizzer1925
prat diggera1931
whizz-boy1931
whizz-man1932
reefer1935
1865 Leaves from Diary Celebrated Burglar 62/1 They were getting uneasy about the absence of their ‘tool’.
1886 A. Pinkerton Thirty Years a Detective 38 The man who is to do the actual stealing is called the ‘tool’ or ‘hook’ and the others are known as ‘stalls’.
1936 Evening News 9 Dec. 8/5 Modern pickpockets are either ‘tools’ or ‘stalls.’.. Really clever tools work alone, disdaining the assistance of a stall.
1955 Publ. Amer. Dial. Soc. No. 24. 60 The tool selects the mark to be robbed, and actually takes the score.
4. Bookbinding. (transferred from 1d(a).) A tooled design on a book-cover.
ΘΚΠ
society > communication > book > manufacture or production of books > book-binding > ornament or lettering on binding > [noun] > impressed designs
tooling1821
tool1881
1881 J. Cundall On Bookbindings 76 He began with a small number of dotted tools, foliage, and the so-called seventeenth-century tools.
1885 C. G. W. Lock Workshop Receipts 4th Ser. 252/1 A book on Natural History should have a bird, insect, shell or other tool indicative of the contents.
Compounds
C1. General attributive.† tool-budget n. Obsolete budget n. 2b.
tool bag n. figurative
ΚΠ
1892–3 T. Eaton & Co. Catal. Fall–Winter 95/1 Bicycle Accessories... Tool Bags—Flat pouch with fastener.
1970 N.Y. Mag. 16 Nov. 42/2 Talk is the most unreliable and over-reacted-to weapon in the black revolutionary toolbag.
tool-basket n.
ΚΠ
1858 P. L. Simmonds Dict. Trade Products Tool-basket, a carpenter's or other workman's basket, for holding tools.
tool-box n.
ΚΠ
1832 Chambers' Edinb. Jrnl. 25 Aug. 236/2 Lifting his tool-box, and going through all the operations of horse-shoeing.
1841 R. W. Emerson Prudence in Ess. 1st Ser. (London ed.) 229 [He] builds a work-bench, or gets his tool-box set in the corner of the barn-chamber.
ΚΠ
1794 W. Felton Treat. Carriages I. 231 Tool budget, Is a small convenience made to hang by straps under the hind part of a carriage.
tool-chest n.
ΚΠ
1784 J. Douglas Cook's Voy. Pacific II. iv. v. 373 As well and ingeniously made, as if they were furnished with the most complete tool-chest.
tool-cutter n.
ΚΠ
1895 J. W. Zaehnsdorf Short Hist. Bookbinding 13 He cut most of these tools himself,..because he could not find a tool cutter of sufficient skill.
tool-dressing n.
ΚΠ
1882 Rep. Precious Metals (U.S. Bureau of Mint) 594 It includes tools, tool-dressing and grinding.
tool-extractor n.
ΚΠ
1877 E. H. Knight Pract. Dict. Mech. Tool-extractor, an implement for recovering from drilled holes broken tools or portions of rods.
tool-gauge n.
ΚΠ
1877 E. H. Knight Pract. Dict. Mech. 2594/1 Nasmyth's tool-gage, for testing the angularity of the cutting-face of iron-turning tools.
tool-handle n.
ΚΠ
1887 C. A. Moloney Sketch Forestry W. Afr. 207 Red wood used for tool-handles and mallets.
tool-kit n.
ΚΠ
1963 A. Lubbock Austral. Roundabout 108 I took..a tool-kit, a box of spare parts, two spare wheels, [etc.].
1977 C. McFadden Serial (1978) iv. 14/2 Did she have enough cash in her Swedish carpenter's tool kit?
tool-maker n.
ΚΠ
1844 J. S. Mill Ess. Polit. Econ. iv. 98 The producer..must set aside a portion of the produce to replace not only the wages paid both by himself and by the tool-maker, but also the profits of the tool-maker.
1858 P. L. Simmonds Dict. Trade Products Tool-maker.
1888 E. Clodd Story of Creation xi. 217 If he is not the only tool-user, he is the only tool-maker among the Primates.
tool-making n. and adj.
ΚΠ
1785 J. Boswell Jrnl. Tour Hebr. 25 (note) Dr. Franklin said, Man was ‘a tool-making animal,’ which is very well; for, no animal but man makes a thing, by means of which he can make another thing.
1893 E. R. Sunderland in J. H. Barrows World's Parl. Relig. I. 630 Religion is an attribute of humanity, as reason and language and tool-making are.
tool-pouch n.
tool-rack n.
tool-roll n.
ΚΠ
1917 Harrods Gen. Catal. 1059/4 Motor car tool roll..containing 19 best quality tools.
1979 W. H. Canaway Solid Gold Buddha xxii. 146 Pete spread a toolroll on the spillway.
tool-room n.
ΚΠ
1878 A. Aylward Transvaal of To-day (1881) ii. 18 Everywhere one may observe that older houses are being used as waggon shelters, coach-houses, tool-rooms.
1937 Times 13 Apr. p. xv/2 This checking is the function of the tool room staff in which are to be found the finest craftsmen in the factory.
1963 Times 28 May 5/2 More than 1,400 toolroom workers in 10 Birmingham factories of the Joseph Lucas group took part in a 24-hour token strike today.
1976 Milton Keynes Express 16 July 13/4 (advt.) Toolmaker and toolroom miller required.
tool-seller n.
ΚΠ
1875 T. Seaton Man. Fret Cutting 71 The tool-seller has to pay the workman for dressing the wood.
tool-shed n.
ΚΠ
1841 C. Dickens Barnaby Rudge lv. 256 To break open a tool-shed in the garden.
tool-shop n.
ΚΠ
1875 T. Seaton Man. Fret Cutting 71 Unprepared wood bought at the tool-shop.
tool-tray n.
tool-user n.
ΚΠ
1888Tool-user [see tool-maker n.].
tool-using n.
ΚΠ
1833 T. Carlyle Sartor Resartus i. v, in Fraser's Mag. Dec. 671/1 This Definition of the Tool-using Animal, appears to us, of all that Animal-sort, considerably the precisest and best.
1862 D. Wilson Prehistoric Man I. vi. 142 Man was created with a tool-using instinct.
C2.
tool-bar n. a frame fitted to a tractor on which interchangeable implements may be mounted.
ΚΠ
1960 Farmer & Stockbreeder 8 Mar. 74/3 In a great many cases they are designed as units to be carried on an ordinary toolbar.
tool-box n. spec. the steel box (box n.2 6) in which the cutting tool of a planing or other machine is clamped.
ΚΠ
1904 Lineham's Text-bk. Mech. Eng. 171 The tool box is fixed to a ram, the sliding of which in saddle gives the cut.
Categories »
tool-car n. U.S. a car used on a railway equipped with tools and appliances for clearing the line after an accident; a breakdown car.
tool-coupling n. a screw coupling by which the operating part of a tool is fastened to the handle (Knight).
tool-crib n. a place from which tools or other stores are issued to workmen.
ΘΚΠ
society > occupation and work > workplace > workshop > [noun] > place from where tools are issued
tool-crib1936
1936 J. Dos Passos Big Money 19 In six years he rose from machinist's helper to keeper of toolcribs.
1973 T. Pynchon Gravity's Rainbow i. 160 It must have been the wind that was carrying him down a dirt road..among the shacks and tool cribs to a wire fence with a gate.
tool-dresser n. Oil Industry = roustabout n. 2c.
ΘΚΠ
society > occupation and work > worker > workers according to type of work > manual or industrial worker > worker in oil industry > [noun] > types of
scout1883
roustabout1886
pipeliner1887
tongsman1891
tool-dresser1896
fisherman1903
roughneck1913
stabber1922
toolie1932
tool-pusher1932
doodlebug1933
rigger1974
1896 B. Redwood Treat. Petroleum I. v. 258 The drilling ‘crew’ consists of two drillers and two tool-dressers.
1976 M. Machlin Pipeline iv. 53 His Daddy started him as a tool dresser—same way I started.
tool head n. a part of a machine that carries the tool or tool-holder and can be moved to bring the tool to bear on the work.
ΘΚΠ
society > occupation and work > equipment > machine tool > [noun] > tool-holder
swing-tool1846
tool-holder1877
tool head1950
1950 W. Cooper in A. W. Judge Centre, Capstan & Automatic Lathes I. iv. 212 Independent feed for the tool heads is provided at each [work] station.
1977 Sci. Amer. Sept. 188/1 The appropriate toolhead was selected automatically by a punched-paper-tape program that was read by an electronic computer-controller.
tool-holder n. (a) a handle by which a tool is held in the hand, esp. a detachable handle for various tools; (b) a tray with a rack for holding a set of tools; (c) a device for holding a tool firmly in place, as in a lathe, or when being ground upon a grindstone.
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society > occupation and work > equipment > tool > [noun] > receptacle for tools
tool-holder1877
society > occupation and work > equipment > machine tool > [noun] > tool-holder
swing-tool1846
tool-holder1877
tool head1950
society > occupation and work > equipment > tool > parts of tools generally > [noun] > handle > detachable
cowl-staffa1325
sastangea1400
cowl-treec1450
tool-holder1877
1877 E. H. Knight Pract. Dict. Mech. 2594/1 A tool-holder for dentists.
1887 D. A. Low Introd. Machine Drawing (1892) 110 Tool-holders must be drawn in their proper positions in the ram, and not separate as in the diagram.
1905 Athenæum 14 Oct. 510/1 The needles used were European, fitted into watchmaker's tool-holders.
tool-house n. a building in which tools are kept, a tool-shed.
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society > inhabiting and dwelling > inhabited place > a building > outhouse(s) > [noun] > types of
skilling1389
haghouse1400
hovel1435
back shed1535
cot-house1606
boorachc1660
linhay1695
spring house1755
woodshed1764
cookhouse1802
tool-house1817
shed1855
drive shed1869
1817 W. Scott Rob Roy II. i. 19 Before he trundled them off to the tool-house.
1908 Betw. Trent & Ancholme 10 A lattice-gate, into the tool-house.
tool-man n. (a) a worker with tools; a toolroom worker; (b) Criminals' slang a lock-picker or (U.S.) safe-breaker.
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the mind > possession > taking > stealing or theft > thief > burglar > [noun] > who picks or forces locks
picklock1553
lock picker1613
gilter?1663
tool-man1909
the mind > possession > taking > stealing or theft > thief > burglar > [noun] > safe-breaker
chest-breaker1604
screwsman1819
safe-breaker1860
safe-blower1867
safe-cracker1873
peterman1900
gopher man1901
yegg1903
yeggman1906
pete-man1907
tool-man1909
society > occupation and work > worker > workers according to type of work > manual or industrial worker > workers with specific tools or equipment > [noun] > with tools
tool-man1909
1909 Webster's New Internat. Dict. Eng. Lang. Toolman, one who works with or makes tools.
1949 W. R. Burnett Asphalt Jungle vii. 47 We need an expert toolman.
1970 R. Busby Frighteners xvi. 157 The toolman..got his nickname and reputation by proving there wasn't a lock made that he couldn't tickle.
1977 Whitaker's Almanack 577 British Leyland was given 28 days to get the striking toolmen back to work.
1979 K. Bonfiglioli After You with Pistol xxiv. 149 Every sound, professional team of thieves has..a ‘toolman’ who knows how to neutralize burglar-alarm systems and to open locks.
tool-mark n. the mark of a tool upon any object that has been shaped or worked by it.
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society > communication > indication > marking > a mark > trace or vestige > [noun] > other traces or vestiges
staddle1691
Indian sign1805
geological record1811
powder mark1823
earmark1836
rock record1851
tool-mark1865
staddle-stead1868
staddle-mark1876
waterline1876
posthole1888
tooth-mark1889
pollen count1926
snake mark1929
parch mark1947
tranchet blow1949
posthole pattern1950
posthole evidence1962
1865 J. F. Campbell Frost & Fire I. x. 94 Before a craftsman can recognise a tool-mark, he must be familiar with the tool.
Categories »
tool-marking n. the etching of a mark or lettering upon a steel tool.
tool-post n. an upright piece in the tool-rest of a lathe, with a slot and a screw for holding the cutting-tool.
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society > occupation and work > equipment > machine tool > lathe > [noun] > tool-holders
roller box1835
tool-post1864
tool-stock1864
1864 Webster's Amer. Dict. Eng. Lang. Tool-post, the part of a tool-rest that holds a stationary cutting-tool;—called also tool-stock.
tool-pusher n. Oil Industry someone in charge of a drilling rig.
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society > occupation and work > worker > workers according to type of work > manual or industrial worker > worker in oil industry > [noun] > types of
scout1883
roustabout1886
pipeliner1887
tongsman1891
tool-dresser1896
fisherman1903
roughneck1913
stabber1922
toolie1932
tool-pusher1932
doodlebug1933
rigger1974
1932 Amer. Speech 7 271 Tool pusher, a foreman in charge of drilling operations—distinct from driller.
1976 M. Machlin Pipeline xlii. 460 Around daylight a tool-pusher comes out and he tells us we better shut down our rig and put out the fire because the crew on the next well's going to change their control head.
tool-rest n. a part of a lathe serving to support a hand-tool, or to hold a mechanical tool in place (in the latter case often having various adjustments for different positions of the tool).
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society > occupation and work > equipment > machine tool > lathe > [noun] > rests
rest1680
slide-rest1839
table-tree1843
hand rest1849
knife-rest1858
tool-rest1864
turning-rest1889
1864 Webster's Amer. Dict. Eng. Lang. Tool-rest (Machine-tools), the part that supports a tool-post or a tool.
tool slide n. a sliding machine part which carries a tool.
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society > occupation and work > equipment > machine > parts of machines > [noun] > sliding > which carries a tool
tool slide1919
1919 G. W. Burley Lathes vii. 108 In some special forms of vertical turning and boring mills the tool-slide is of the non-swivelling variety,..and only vertical and horizontal movements are possible.
1936 F. H. Colvin & F. A. Stanley Turning & Boring Pract. vii. 101 When the cut is completed the spindle stops, the flow of coolant is shut off, and the tool slides return..to the starting point.
1963 N. Weinstein tr. Boguslavsky Automatic & Semi-automatic Lathes i. 32 If internal surfaces are to be machined in addition to external surfaces, semi-automatics having a central end-working toolslide, or a turret are employed.
toolsmith n. a man who makes steel tools.
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society > occupation and work > worker > workers according to type of work > manual or industrial worker > producer > makers of other articles > [noun] > of tools
toolsmith1884
1884 C. G. W. Lock Workshop Receipts 3rd Ser. 269/2 A toolsmith usually heats cast steel to what he terms a cherry-red.
tool-stack n. = tool-post n., tool-holder n. (c).
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1889 Cent. Dict. VIII. 6380/2 Tool-stack.
tool-stay n. a tool-holder in a lathe-rest, with a slot for a drill or other tool (Knight).
tool steel n. steel of the quality used for tools.
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society > occupation and work > materials > derived or manufactured material > metal > steel > [noun] > steel for specific use
tool steel1868
structural steel1895
1868 F. H. Joynson Metals in Constr. 90 For tool-steel, from 1·5 to 1·7 per cent [of charcoal being required].
1894 R. R. Bowker in Harper's Mag. Jan. 419 Too costly..to be in demand except for tool steel.
tool-stock n. = tool-post n.
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society > occupation and work > equipment > machine tool > lathe > [noun] > tool-holders
roller box1835
tool-post1864
tool-stock1864
1864Tool-stock [see tool-post n.].
tool-stone n. name for a palæolithic implement consisting of a natural stone very slightly adapted to be held in the hand, or used as a rude tool.
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society > occupation and work > equipment > tool > types of tools generally > prehistoric tool > [noun] > types of
flintstonec1400
celt1748
fairy hammer1815
axe1851
flint-flake1851
stone-axe1864
flake-knife1865
scraper1865
thumb-flint1865
tool-stone1865
saddle quern1867
fabricator1872
grattoir1872
hammer-stone1872
tribrach1873
flake1875
hand-axe1878
pick1888
turtle-back1890
racloir1892
eolith1895
pebble chopper1895
palaeotalith1897
tranchet1899
point1901
pygmy flint1907
microlith1908
Gravette1911
keeled scraper1911
lissoir1911
coup de poing1912
end-scraper1915
burin1916
rostro-carinate1919
tortoise core1919
blade1921
axe-adze1925
petit tranchet1926
tournette1927
pebble tool1931
raclette1932
biface1934
cleaver1935
thumbnail scraper1937
microblade1959
linguate1966
1865 J. Lubbock Prehist. Times iii. 76 The oval tool-stones..are oval or egg-shaped stones, more or less indented on one or both surfaces... Some antiquaries suppose that they were held between the finger and thumb, and used as hammers or chippers.
tool subject n. Education a subject taught or studied as a help to a main subject.
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society > education > learning > study > subject or object of study > [noun] > ancillary subject
subfield1894
tool subject1934
1934 Webster's New Internat. Dict. Eng. Lang. Tool subject.
1966 Rep. Comm. Inq. (Univ. of Oxf.) II. 456 Teaching in any ‘ancillary’ or ‘tool’ subject (e.g. languages for historians or mathematics for economists).
Draft additions April 2002
Computing. Any item of software (or occasionally, hardware) used as the means of accomplishing a specific task; esp. (a) a utility program employed in the development, maintenance, and manipulation of software and (less frequently) hardware; frequently more fully in software tool, programming tool, etc.; (b) a particular function available within an application (frequently with a toolbar interface); (occasionally also) the clickable icon representing such a function.
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1956 Proc. Eastern Joint Computer Conf. 124 (heading) Datafile—a new tool for extensive file storage.
1976 B. W. Kernighan & P. J. Plauger (title) Software tools.
1984 Computers & Electronics (Nexis) Apr. 44 The Manager here is really a binary tree of menus presented in graphics form (but without icons). Select the tools menus item, for example, and you're brought down into a second level of options.
1989 PC World Oct. 227/2 The desqview API Debugger is an interactive tool enabling the API programmer to trace and single step through API calls from several concurrently running..programs.
1991 UnixWorld Oct. 102/1 Choose the text tool and click to invoke the text dialog box.
1993 E. S. Raymond New Hacker's Dict. (ed. 2) 264 Bugs in an important tool (like a compiler) are serious lossage.
1995 Desktop Publishers Jrnl. July 30/4 Knock out the current background using the pen tool found in the Show Paths tool palette.
2001 Yahoo! Internet Life July 82/2 It's not just a Web site; it's also a set of publishing tools that allows even a novice to create a Weblog, automatically add content to a Web site, or organize links, commentary, and open discussions.
Draft additions April 2002
toolbar n. Computing a row of buttons or icons on a monitor screen representing a set of options in a program and constituting an interface to a set of applications, so that clicking on a button activates a tool or brings up a menu of further options.
ΚΠ
1989 MacUser (Nexis) July 197 Plus has full-screen windows with scroll bars and close boxes and an expandable tool bar (no tear-off menus here).
1992 PC World Apr. 208/1 Excel 4.0's new tool bar—shortcut buttons that execute frequently used commands—will also help you steer clear of menus.
1995 Amer. Scientist Sept. (inside back cover) (advt.) Batch command language and editable macros, flexible ‘turn-key’ and automation options, custom-designed procedures can be added to floating Auto Task toolbars.
2001 Computer Music May 71/3 On-the-fly marker placement is achieved by hitting F11 or clicking the + icon in the markers toolbar.
Draft additions April 2002
toolbox n. Computing a set of software tools designed to facilitate the construction of more advanced tools or user programs in specific application areas; a toolkit (though the terms toolbox and toolkit may be used more specifically by individual authors so that one constitutes a subset of the other).
ΚΠ
1966 Proc. AFIPS Conf. 28 150/1 The SMPS toolbox contains building blocks and a framework with which a model of a message-processing system can be built.
1982 Byte Mar. 464/3 The toolbox approach lets scientists apply computers to laboratory problems that tend to resist conventional design and programming methods.
1998 Daily Tel. 8 Oct. (Connected section) 12/2 Notice that if you click on the letter A in the Toolbox a resizeable box appears on the screen into which you can type text.
Draft additions April 2002
toolkit n. Computing = toolbox n. at Additions.
ΚΠ
1982 Computerworld 8 Mar. 62/4 Toolkit/34 was designed to speed the retrieval of selected information for the programmer and to simplify those functions critical to program testing.
1986 Acta Crystallogr. A. 42 110 (heading) A toolkit for computational molecular biology. II. On the optimal superposition of two sets of coordinates.
1988 Byte Oct. 98/2 Zortech's Comm Toolkit package is an eye-opening collection of programs geared to the programmer involved with serial-port communications and anxious to get on with it.
1997 Electronic Engin. Times 30 June 154/1 (advt.) Lead CAD projects in support of toolkit development for these products.
Draft additions June 2007
toolset n. (a) a collection of tools, a toolkit; (b) Computing a set of software tools; = toolbox n. at Additions.
ΚΠ
1878 Galveston (Texas) Daily News 30 Aug. (advt.) Tool sets, 75c.
1987 Jrnl. Operational Res. Soc. 38 758 The toolset is generically applicable to various simulation modelling tasks.
2002 Sunday Mercury (Birmingham) (Nexis) 4 Aug. 39 Here you can use the exact toolset the programmers used to design the game and create your own challenges, which you can then put on to the internet for all to play.
2004 Canberra Times (Nexis) 12 June 11 The Galilee school..had asked Gerald Slaven Motors for the donation of a basic toolset to help re-establish its automotive repair workshop.
This entry has not yet been fully updated (first published 1913; most recently modified version published online June 2022).
toolv.
1.
a. transitive. To work or shape with a tool; spec. to smooth the surface of a building stone with the chisels called ‘tools’: cf. quot. 18421 at tool n. 1d (b).
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society > occupation and work > industry > building or constructing > building or constructing with stone > build or construct with stone [verb (transitive)] > other processes
raggle1525
pin1680
rusticate1715
heart1776
tool1815
boast1823
fine-axe1834
ashlar1836
riprap1837
stroke1842
ditch1865
wraggle1875
bush-hammera1884
thorough-bind1884
1815 J. Smith Panorama Sci. & Art I. 218 The larger sizes of chisels obtain the name of tools, the act of using them is called tooling, and the stone to which they have been applied is said to be tooled.
1828 W. Carr Dial. Craven (ed. 2) Tool, to make a level surface on a stone.
1842 Civil Engineer & Architect's Jrnl. 5 211/1 The whole exterior..will be faced with stone from the Summit delphs, which is to be neatly hammer-dressed, except the ashlar dressings, which are to be neatly tooled.
1873 T. Seaton Man. Fret Cutting (1875) 56 The stems and branches look very well when simply rounded and tooled with the V-tool, or tooling-gouge, which is the smallest sized round gouge.
1876 W. H. Preece & J. Sivewright Telegraphy 238 Chatterton's compound should be warmed, and a small quantity put on the copper and joint, and properly tooled over, so as to cover the joint equally. Before applying the tooling-iron it should be well wiped.
1895 Daily Chron. 15 Jan. 6/7 Aluminium..is ductile, but difficult to tool.
b. Bookbinding. To impress an ornamental design upon the binding of (a book) with a special tool (see tool n. 1d(a)). Most usually in past participle; see also tooled adj.2
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society > communication > book > manufacture or production of books > book-binding > ornament or lettering on binding > [verb (transitive)] > impress design in or on
tool1836
stamp1863
blind1901
1836 J. R. Smith's Catal. Bks. Feb. 14/1 A remarkable fine copy, russia extra, tooled on sides, gilt.
1881 A. Lang Library 65 Leather tooled with geometrical patterns.
1885 C. G. W. Lock Workshop Receipts 4th Ser. 246/1 Another method is to tool the edge before burnishing.
c. intransitive. To work with a tool or tools; spec. in Bookbinding: see tool n. 1d(a) and tooling n. 2b.
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society > occupation and work > industry > working with tools or equipment > work with tools or equipment [verb (intransitive)]
tool1890
1890 Daily News 2 July 5/1 ‘The Tasmanians’..the very last people who ‘tooled’ with rudely chipped flints.
1892 Sat. Rev. 16 Jan. 64/2 They are a ferocious people..and ‘tool’ with spears almost as broad in the head as shovels.
d. transitive. To manipulate. ? U.S.
ΚΠ
1922 H. Titus Timber xvii. 158 The fish struck..! His left arm tooled the line carefully as he gave out.
e. transitive. To equip (a factory) with the machine tools needed for a particular product; to provide the tools needed for (a new product); also intransitive. Usually with up. Also figurative.
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society > occupation and work > equipment > tool > provide tools [verb (intransitive)]
tool1927
society > occupation and work > equipment > tool > provide with tools [verb (transitive)]
arm1860
implement1886
tool1927
instrument1946
1927 Observer 25 Sept. 4 The work of tooling up the Manchester and Cork factories may result in production within the next two months.
1933 Flight 27 Apr. 392 It is standard practice to ‘tool up’ for a certain type as soon as the size of the order warrants the expenditure on jigs and dies.
1939 Times 4 Nov. 6/3 The United States National Defence Council is taking steps to see that American plants shall not be tooled to fit European needs at the expense..of the United States' own later military needs.
1940 E. J. H. Jones Production Engin. i. 6 The expression to ‘tool up’ a component means to design and supply all jigs, fixtures, cutting tools, and gauges required for the manufacture and inspection of the piece.
1957 Observer 3 Nov. 11/4 Makers must be given a chance to sell models already tooled-up.
1959 Times Rev. Industry Apr. 57/3 Much expenditure had to be faced for tooling new models.
1962 Listener 13 Sept. 375/1 The automobile factories have tooled up for their new models.
1972 M. Kaye Lively Game of Death v. 23 I saw all of the specs..and I helped to tool it up.
f. intransitive. to tool up (figurative): to arm oneself. slang.
ΘΚΠ
society > armed hostility > military equipment > arming or equipping with weapons > arm [verb (intransitive)]
armc1450
to tool up1959
1959 Times 7 Apr. 6/3 There seemed a general agreement that the fashion of carrying dangerous weapons was more widespread to-day than formerly. One read all too often about groups of young men ‘tooling up’ before setting off for a showdown with a rival gang.
1971 J. Mandelkau Buttons xiii. 142 We tooled up with pieces of wood and iron bars and hiked over towards their main camp.
1978 H. Wouk War & Remembrance xxi. 213 We might have closed the Mediterranean and forced England to her knees even while..we tooled up for our summer Caucasus thrust.
2. slang.
a. transitive. To drive (a team of horses, a vehicle, or a person in a vehicle); of a horse, to draw (a person) in a vehicle.
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society > travel > transport > transport or conveyance in a vehicle > driving or operating a vehicle > drive a vehicle [verb (transitive)] > drive a horse-drawn vehicle
driveOE
lead1377
tool1812
Jehu1822
society > travel > transport > transport or conveyance by drawing along > draw along or haul [verb (transitive)] > of a horse
tool1881
1812 Sporting Mag. Oct. 10/2 She intends to tool the Liverpool expedition to-morrow night.
1840 J. T. J. Hewlett Peter Priggins xv, in New Monthly Mag. He would only drive to Benson, and ‘tool’ the down mail back again.
1849 E. Bulwer-Lytton Caxtons II. xiii. iv. 325 He could tool a coach!
1864 C. Dickens Our Mutual Friend (1865) I. i. xi. 98 She was on most days solemnly tooled through the Park..in a great tall custard-coloured phaeton.
1881 A. Jessopp Arcady (1887) i. 13 The high-stepping mare that tools him along through the village street.
1882 H. C. Merivale Faucit of Balliol II. ii. ii. 158 I tooled the little mare over from Luscombe Abbey—the six miles in the half-hour.
b. intransitive. Originally: to drive, to travel in a horse-drawn vehicle; also said of the vehicle, or team. Subsequently, by extension: to travel in any kind of vehicle, and (of the vehicle) to travel, go along.
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society > travel > transport > transport or conveyance in a vehicle > riding in a vehicle > ride in a vehicle [verb (intransitive)]
rideeOE
tool1835
society > travel > transport > transport or conveyance by drawing along > draw along or haul [verb (intransitive)] > draw along (of team of horses)
tool1876
1835 C. Dickens Let. 11 Jan. (1965) I. 53 I wish..you could have seen me tooling in and out of the banners, drums,..and go-carts.
1839 J. Frazer in Haileybury Observer I. 53 The road was so good..as to enable us to ‘tool along’ in a well-hung britschka, at the rate of ten miles an hour.
1848 W. M. Thackeray Pendennis (1850) I. iii. 30 I thought I'd just tool over, and go to the play.
1876 M. M. Grant Sun-maid II. ii. 64 The Marquis's frisky chestnuts, tooling rapidly through the town.
1893 W. A. Shee My Contemporaries iii. 77 Went to Ascot..and we ‘tooled’ down in very good style.
1923 P. G. Wodehouse Inimitable Jeeves xiii. 155 I borrowed a bicycle from one of the grooms and tooled off.
1964 Manhunt May 134/1 I was tooling home from the Mexican border in a light blue convertible.
1977 D. Anthony Stud Game xix. 114 I tooled down the Coast Highway to Sunset.
c. Of a person: to go (or come) in an easy manner; to go off quickly.
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society > travel > [verb (intransitive)] > in leisurely manner
wandera1616
whig1689
slope1851
tool1862
poodle1938
1862 A. J. Munby Diary 23 Feb. in D. Hudson Munby (1972) 116 Near S. Martin's Lane, I met W. M. Thackeray; ‘tooling’ along quietly, alone, with hands in pockets.
1881 Punch 17 Dec. 285/2 Now we'll just tool off to some quiet sort of a place where we can divide this 'ere shining swag without fireworks.
1936 P. G. Wodehouse Laughing Gas xxviii. 293 Well, I know when I'm licked. I tooled straight round to the Temple of the New Dawn and asked for an entrance form.
1937 D. L. Sayers Busman's Honeymoon 25 The Dowager saw them and was quite nice to them, so they tooled off, fairly happy.
1940 P. G. Wodehouse Eggs, Beans & Crumpets 58 Bingo was tooling along the road with the Peke in his arms.
1945 ‘A. Gilbert’ Don't open Door xix. 176 Citizens come tooling up to the Police Station..to give information.
1955 E. Waugh Officers & Gentlemen 8 Tool off to Headquarters and get the gen about tonight's do.
1977 ‘E. Crispin’ Glimpses of Moon vi. 90 Then along comes the boy-friend..and tools off without the least idea that anything's seriously wrong.
d. To play around; to behave in an aimless or irresponsible manner.
ΘΚΠ
the world > action or operation > inaction > idleness, lack of occupation or activity > be idle or unoccupied [verb (intransitive)] > potter or waste time in trifling activity
trifle?a1400
loiterc1400
tiffc1440
tifflec1440
to pick a salad1520
to play the wanton1529
fiddle1530
dauntc1540
piddle1545
dally?1548
pittlea1568
pingle1574
puddle1591
to thrum caps1594
maginate1623
meecha1625
pudder1624
dabble1631
fanfreluche1653
dawdlea1656
taigle17..
niff-naff1728
tiddle1747
peddle1755
gammer1788
quiddle1789
muddle1791
browse1803
niddle1808
poke1811
fal-lal1818
potter1824
footer1825
putter1827
shaffle1828
to fool about1838
mike1838
piffle1847
mess1853
to muck about1856
tinker1856
bohemianize1857
to fool around1860
frivol1866
june1869
muss1876
to muddle about (also around)1877
slummock1877
dicker1888
moodle1893
to fart about1899
to fart about (or around)1899
plouter1899
futz1907
monkey1916
to arse around1919
to play around1929
to fuck around1931
tool1932
frig1933
boondoggle1935
to muck around1935
to screw around1935
to bugger about1937
to bugger around1939
to piss about1943
to dick around1948
to jerk around1953
fart-arse1954
to fanny around1969
slop1973
dork1982
to twat around (or about)1992
to dick about1996
1932 ‘F. Iles’ Before the Fact i. v. 77 ‘Well, anyhow, what are you doing with yourself.’.. ‘Oh, tooling around, you know. Nothing much.’
1957 New Yorker 21 Sept. 37/3 Let him stay parched or get a head cold tooling around in ferryboats.
1973 ‘A. Hall’ Tango Briefing ii. 22 We were tooling around in Malta on a friendly visit.
1981 J. Wainwright All on Summer's Day 8 Tool around long enough with the paper work and..half the night has slipped by.
This entry has not yet been fully updated (first published 1913; most recently modified version published online June 2022).
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