Emily Dickinson Lexicon

HEW, v.t. [pret. hewed; pp. hewed or hewn. Sax. heawian; G. hauen; D. houwen; Sw. hugga; Dan. hugger. In Sw. hugg is a cut, a slash; Dan. hug, a beating, a striking; so that the primary sense is to strike, to drive with the hand. See Hoe.]

1. To cut with an ax, or other like instrument, for the purpose of making an even surface or side; as, to hew timber.
2. To chop; to cut; to hack; as, to hew in pieces.
3. To cut with a chisel; to make smooth; as, to hew stone.
4. To form or shape with an edged instrument; with out; as, to hew out a sepulcher. Is. xxii.
5. To form laboriously. I now pass my days, not studious nor idle, rather polishing old works than hewing out new ones. [Unusual.] Pope. To hew down, to cut down; to fell by cutting. To hew off, to cut off; to separate by a cutting instrument.