anvil
To fashion on, or as if on, an anvilTo fashion on, or as if on, an anvil.
» Better a hammer than an anvil.
filipe_s · Tatoeba · CC BY 2.0 FRMeaning
1 senses(figuratively, often)To fashion on, or as if on, an anvil.
Examples
17 sentencesBetter a hammer than an anvil.
Tom is as dumb as an anvil.
The cobbler is looking for a new anvil.
deDer Schuster ist auf der Suche nach einem neuen Dreifuß. — al_ex_an_der
Tom hammered the glowing iron on the anvil.
deTom bearbeitete das glühende Eisen mit dem Hammer auf dem Amboss. — Pfirsichbaeumchen
He hits the anvil with a big hammer.
Origin
From Middle English anfilt, anvelt, anfelt, from late Old English anfilt, anfilte, anfealtFrom Middle English anfilt, anvelt, anfelt, from late Old English anfilt, anfilte, anfealt, from earlier onfilti (“anvil”), from Proto-West Germanic *anafalt (compare Middle Dutch anvilte, Low German Anfilts, Anefilt, Old High German anafalz), compound of *ana (“on”) + *falt (“beaten”) (compare German falzen (“to groove, fold, welt”), Swedish dialectal filta (“to beat”)), from Proto-Indo-European *pelh₂-t- (“shaken, beaten”) (compare Middle Irish lethar (“leather”), Latin pellō (“to beat, strike”), Ancient Greek πάλλω (pállō, “to toss, brandish”)), enlargement of Proto-Indo-European *pelh₂- (“to stir, move”). More at felon.
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Forms
anvils, anviling, anviled, anviledWord family
3 related wordsLessons for this word
3 lessons- A1Present simple — Because it is a verb
- A1Past simple, regular verbs — Because of its past form
- A2Present perfect: introduction — Because of its past participle