lewis

nouncommon in dialogue

//ˈluːɪs//

A cramp iron inserted into a cavity in order to lift heavy stones; used as a symbol of strength in Freemasonry.

noun

1
A cramp iron inserted into a cavity in order to lift heavy stones; used as a symbol of strength in Freemasonry.
2
figurativeThe son of a Freemason, envisaged as assisting his father in heavy work or in old age.
3
A kind of shears used in cropping woollen cloth.
After the preeming period, the lads are put either to the gig-machines, or to the lewises in the cutting or shearing-room.

Etymology

From Middle English lewis, of uncertain origin. Possibly from Old French lous, plural of lou, loup (“the name of a kind of siege engine”, literally “wolf”); or related to clevis.

Forms

plural: lewises

Levine · A surname from Hebrew.lew · Lukewarm, tepid.Lew · A diminutive of the male given name Lewis.

lewis · A cramp iron inserted into a cavity in order to lift heavy stones; used as a symbol of strength in Freemasonry.

Lewis · A male given name from Frankish.lex · To perform lexical analysis; to convert a character stream to…Lex · Lexington.

The neighbouring pages — Alphabetical order follows the rules of the language, not byte values: an accent decides only between two otherwise identical words, and Spanish files Ñ as a letter of its own.