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Glite Dictionary
bucksaw

bucksaw

1 9.1
A hand tool with a frame shaped like an H for cutting logs with both hands
  • noun
  • /ˈbʌkˌsɔː/
  • Specialized
: sierra de dos manos
  • At age 8, I sawed (bucksaw) logs into stove-length pieces.

Examples

  • Last weekend, I used a bucksaw to cut some firewood for the winter.

  • He lined up the log on the sawbuck and began to cut it with his bucksaw.

  • With both hands on the handle, she expertly maneuvered the bucksaw through the thick wood.

Synonyms

handsaw
vsbucksaw
3 2.3

A tool you hold in one hand to cut wood

is used with both hands in an H frame for cutting wood
backsaw
vsbucksaw
  • Specialized
1 7.7

A short hand saw that has a stiff metal back for making precise cuts in wood

is used with both hands in a frame for rougher, larger cutting tasks

Surface Forms

bucksaw singular
bucksaws plural

Morphology

bucksaw = buck + saw (semi-transparent) = buck + saw

The compound is clearly formed from 'buck' + 'saw', but the specific sense of 'buck' as a support/frame (as in 'sawbuck') is specialised and not obvious to all learners.

Etymology

The word bucksaw comes from the wooden frame called a sawbuck (with buck meaning a wooden 'stand' for logs) plus saw, the cutting tool. So a bucksaw is the saw made to work with that stand to cut wood with both hands.