From Latin 'caedere' (to cut)—sharing its root with scissors, decide, and cement.
A hand tool with a sharpened edge at the end of a metal blade, used for cutting or shaping wood, stone, or metal.
From Old Norman French 'chisel,' variant of Old French 'cisel,' from Latin *cisellum, from 'caedere' (to cut). The same Latin root gives us 'scissors,' 'decide' (to cut off options), and 'homicide' (to cut down a person). Key roots: caedere (Latin: "to cut, to strike, to kill").