Carve

• POS: Verb (transitive)

CIDE DICTIONARY

Carve, v. t. [AS. ceorfan to cut, carve; akin to D. kerven, G. kerben, Dan. karve, Sw. karfva, and to Gr. gra`fein to write, orig. to scratch, and E. -graphy. Cf. Graphic.].

•  To cut.  [1913 Webster]

  "Or they will carven the shepherd's throat."  [1913 Webster]
•  To cut, as wood, stone, or other material, in an artistic or decorative manner; to sculpture; to engrave.  [1913 Webster]

  "Carved with figures strange and sweet."  [1913 Webster]
•  To make or shape by cutting, sculpturing, or engraving; to form; as, to carve a name on a tree.  [1913 Webster]

  "An angel carved in stone."  [1913 Webster]

  "We carved not a line, and we raised not a stone."  [1913 Webster]
•  To cut into small pieces or slices, as meat at table; to divide for distribution or apportionment; to apportion.  Shak.  [1913 Webster]
•  To cut: to hew; to mark as if by cutting.  [1913 Webster]

  "My good blade carved the casques of men."  [1913 Webster]

  "A million wrinkles carved his skin."  [1913 Webster]
•  To take or make, as by cutting; to provide.  [1913 Webster]

  "Who could easily have carved themselves their own food."  [1913 Webster]
•  To lay out; to contrive; to design; to plan.  [1913 Webster]

  "Lie ten nights awake carving the fashion of a new doublet."  [1913 Webster]

  "Fortunes were carved out of the property of the crown."  [1913 Webster]

To carve out, to make or get by cutting, or as if by cutting; to cut out. “[Macbeth] with his brandished steel . . . carved out his passage.” Shak.

Carve, v. i. 

•  To exercise the trade of a sculptor or carver; to engrave or cut figures.  [1913 Webster]
•  To cut up meat; as, to carve for all the guests.  [1913 Webster]

Carve, n. 

 A carucate.  Burrill.  [1913 Webster]

OXFORD DICTIONARY

Carve, v.
1 tr. produce or shape (a statue, representation in relief, etc.) by cutting into a hard material (carved a figure out of rock; carved it in wood).
2 tr. a cut patterns, designs, letters, etc. in (hard material). b (foll. by into) form a pattern, design, etc., from (carved it into a bust). c (foll. by with) cover or decorate (material) with figures or designs cut in it.
3 tr. (absol.) cut (meat etc.) into slices for eating.

Idiom

carve out
1 take from a larger whole.
2 establish (a career etc.) purposefully (carved out a name for themselves). carve up divide into several pieces; subdivide (territory etc.). carve-up n. sl. a sharing-out, esp. of spoils. carving knife a knife with a long blade, for carving meat.

Etymology

OE ceorfan cut f. WG

THESAURUS

Carve

allot, amputate, apportion, assemble, autolithograph, ax, be a printmaker, bisect, block out, book, butcher, calendar, canal, canalize, carve up, cast, catalog, chalk, chalk up, chamfer, channel, character, chase, check in, chip, chisel, chop, chronicle, cleave, convert, corrugate, crack, crease, create, cribble, crimp, crosshatch, cultivate, cut, cut away, cut in two, cut off, cut up, dado, dichotomize, dike, dissect, dissever, ditch, divide, divide into shares, divide up, divide with, divvy up, docket, efform, enchase, engrave, enroll, enscroll, enter, excise, extract, fashion, figure, file, fill out, fissure, fix, flute, forge, form, formalize, found, frame, furrow, gash, goffer, gouge, grave, groove, grow, gully, hack, halve, harvest, hatch, hew, impanel, incise, index, inscribe, insculpture, insert, jigsaw, jot down, knead, knock out, lance, lay out, lick into shape, line, list, lithograph, log, machine, make a memorandum, make a note, make an entry, make out, make prints, mark, mark down, matriculate, mill, mine, mint, minute, model, mold, note, note down, parcel, parcel out, pare, part, partition, place upon record, pleat, plow, poll, portion, post, post up, print, process, prune, pump, put down, put in writing, put on paper, put on tape, rabbet, raise, rear, record, reduce to writing, refine, register, rend, rifle, rive, rough out, roughcast, roughhew, rut, saw, scissor, score, scrape, scratch, sculp, sculpt, sculpture, set, set down, sever, shape, share, share out, share with, slash, slice, slice the pie, slice up, slit, smelt, snip, solder, split, split up, stamp, stipple, streak, striate, subdivide, sunder, tabulate, tailor, take down, tape, tape-record, tear, thermoform, tool, trench, trough, videotape, weld, whittle, work, wrinkle, write, write down, write in, write out, write up

ROGET THESAURUS

Carve

Disjunction

VB be disjoined, come off, fall off, come to pieces, fall to pieces, peel off, get loose, disjoin, disconnect, disengage, disunite, dissociate, dispair, divorce, part, dispart, detach, separate, cut off, rescind, segregate, set apart, keep apart, insulate, isolate, throw out of gear, cut adrift, loose, unloose, undo, unbind, unchain, unlock, unpack, unravel, disentangle, set free, sunder, divide, subdivide, sever, dissever, abscind, circumcise, cut, incide, incise, saw, snip, nib, nip, cleave, rive, rend, slit, split, splinter, chip, crack, snap, break, tear, burst, rend, rend asunder, rend in twain, wrench, rupture, shatter, shiver, cranch, crunch, craunch, chop, cut up, rip up, hack, hew, slash, whittle, haggle, hackle, discind, lacerate, scamble, mangle, gash, hash, slice, cut up, carve, dissect, anatomize, dislimb, take to pieces, pull to pieces, pick to pieces, tear to pieces, tear to tatters, tear piecemeal, tear limb from limb, divellicate, skin, disintegrate, dismember, disbranch, disband, disperse, dislocate, disjoint, break up, mince, comminute, apportion, part, part company, separate, leave.

Apportionment

VB apportion, divide, distribute, administer, dispense, billet, allot, detail, cast, share, mete, portion out, parcel out, dole out, deal, carve, allocate, ration, ration out, assign, separate, partition, assign, appropriate, appoint, come in for one's share.

Production

VB produce, perform, operate, do, make, gar, form, construct, fabricate, frame, contrive, manufacture, weave, forge, coin, carve, chisel, build, raise, edify, rear, erect, put together, set up, run up, establish, constitute, compose, organize, institute, achieve, accomplish, flower, bear fruit, fructify, teem, ean, yean, farrow, drop, pup, kitten, kindle, bear, lay, whelp, bring forth, give birth to, lie in, be brought to bed of, evolve, pullulate, usher into the world, make productive, create, beget, get, generate, fecundate, impregnate, procreate, progenerate, propagate, engender, bring into being, call into being, bring into existence, breed, hatch, develop, bring up, induce, superinduce, suscitate, cause, acquire.

Form

VB form, shape, figure, fashion, efform, carve, cut, chisel, hew, cast, rough hew, rough cast, sketch, block out, hammer out, trim, lick into shape, put into shape, model, knead, work up into, set, mold, sculpture, cast, stamp, build.

Curvature

N curvature, curvity, curvation, incurvature, incurvity, incurvation, bend, flexure, flexion, flection, conflexure, crook, hook, bought, bending, deflection, deflexion, inflection, inflexion, concameration, arcuation, devexity, turn, deviation, detour, sweep, curl, curling, bough, recurvity, recurvation, sinuosity, kink, carve, arc, arch, arcade, vault, bow, crescent, half-moon, lunule, horseshoe, loop, crane neck, parabola, hyperbola, helix, spiral, catenary, festoon, conchoid, cardioid, caustic, tracery, arched ceiling, arched roof, bay window, bow window, sine curve, spline, spline curve, spline function, obliquity, curved, curviform, curvilineal, curvilinear, devex, devious, recurved, recurvous, crump, bowed, vaulted, hooked, falciform, falcated, semicircular, crescentic, sinusoid, parabolic, paraboloid, luniform, lunular, semilunar, conchoidal, helical, double helical, spiral, kinky, cordiform, cordated, cardioid, heart shaped, bell shaped, boat shaped, crescent shaped, lens shaped, moon shaped, oar shaped, shield shaped, sickle shaped, tongue shaped, pear shaped, fig shaped, kidney-shaped, reniform, lentiform, lenticular, bow-legged, oblique, circular, aduncated, arclike, arcuate, arched, beaked, bicorn, bicornuous, bicornute, clypeate, clypeiform, cymbiform, embowed, galeiform, hamate, hamiform, hamous, hooked, linguiform, lingulate, lobiform, lunate, navicular, peltate, remiform, rhamphoid, rostrate, rostriferous, rostroid, scutate, scaphoid, uncate, unguiculate, unguiform.

Representation

VB copy, drawing, sketch, drought, draft, plot, chart, figure, scheme, image, likeness, icon, portrait, striking likeness, speaking likeness, very image, effigy, facsimile, figure, figure head, puppet, doll, figurine, aglet, manikin, lay- figure, model, mammet, marionette, fantoccini, waxwork, bust, statue, statuette, ideograph, hieroglyphic, anaglyph, kanji, diagram, monogram, map, plan, chart, ground plan, projection, elevation (plan), ichnography, cartography, atlas, outline, scheme, view, radiograph, scotograph, sciagraph, spectrogram, heliogram, V, represent, delineate, depict, depicture, portray, take a likeness, catch a likeness, hit off, photograph, daguerreotype, snapshot, figure, shadow forth, shadow out, adumbrate, body forth, describe, trace, copy, mold, dress up, illustrate, symbolize, paint, carve, engrave, personate, personify, impersonate, assume a character, pose as, act, play, mimic, hold the mirror up to nature.

Sculpture

VB sculpture, carve, cut, chisel, model, mold, cast.