Wiktionary

tool

See also: Tool

English

 
Several tools in a toolbox

Etymology

From Middle English tool, tol, from Old English tōl (“tool, implement, instrument”, literally “that with which one prepares something”), perhaps borrowed from Old Norse tól, but at any rate ultimately from Proto-Germanic *tōlą (“that which is used in preparation, tool”), from Proto-Indo-European *dewh₂- (“to tie to, secure”), equivalent to taw (“to prepare”) +‎ -le (agent suffix). Cognate with Scots tuil (“tool, implement, instrument, device”), Icelandic tól (“tool”), Faroese tól (“tool, instrument”). Related to Old English tāwian (“to make, prepare, or cultivate”); see taw, and tow ("fibres used for spinning").[1][2]

Pronunciation

Noun

tool (plural tools)

  2. Any mechanical device meant to ease or do a task.
    Hyponyms: hand tool, power tool, machine tool; see also Thesaurus:tool
    Several prehistoric tools, including a stone ax, were found during the dig.
    A screwdriver is a tool that no household should be without.
    A stapler is a tool for attaching papers to others.
    1. Any piece of equipment used in a profession, such as a craftsman's.
      Hyponyms: hand tool, power tool, machine tool; see also Thesaurus:tool
      the tools of the trade
      Rakes, shovels, hoes, and spades are some of the tools of the gardener's trade.
      I don't have the right tools to start fiddling around with the engine.
      A timing light is a tool that only an automotive mechanic, professional or amateur, would have.
      • 2012 March, Brian Hayes, “Pixels or Perish”, in American Scientist‎[1], volume 100, number 2, archived from the original on 19 February 2013, page 106:
        Drawings and pictures are more than mere ornaments in scientific discourse. Blackboard sketches, geological maps, diagrams of molecular structure, astronomical photographs, MRI images, the many varieties of statistical charts and graphs: These pictorial devices are indispensable tools for presenting evidence, for explaining a theory, for telling a story.
  3. Anything that aids someone to perform an operation; an instrument; a means.
    Idleness is a tool of the devil.
    A spreadsheet app and a bookkeeping app are some of the principal tools of a bookkeeper.
    • 1867, The Masonic Trowel, volume 6, page 44:
      What was the need of a man to do that? "One stick at a time;" if Ned could not do that, he was a poor tool. Ah, a poor tool he proved to be.
    • 2013 July-August, Catherine Clabby, “Focus on Everything”, in American Scientist‎[2], archived from the original on 11 May 2017:
      Not long ago, it was difficult to produce photographs of tiny creatures with every part in focus. […] A photo processing technique called focus stacking has changed that. Developed as a tool to electronically combine the sharpest bits of multiple digital images, focus stacking is a boon to biologists seeking full focus on a micron scale.
  4. (computing) A piece of software used to develop software or hardware, or to perform low-level operations.
    Hypernyms: application, program
    Hyponyms: utility, applet
    The software engineer had been developing lots of EDA tools.
    a tool for recovering deleted files from a disk
  5. A person or group which is used or controlled, usually unwittingly, by another person or group.
    She was a tool of the pharmaceutical lobby.
    He was a tool of a foreign influence operation.
  6. (baseball) A particular skill pertaining to baseball (such as hitting, running, etc.).
    a five-tool player
    • 2007 November 7, Mark Bechtel, “"there's Something Fun About Yooouuuk"”, in Sports Illustrated‎[3], archived from the original on 2008-10-14:
      When asked what he liked about Youk [Kevin Youkilis], former Boston scout Matt Haas says, "At first glance, not a lot." (Mind you, this is one of the few scouts who actually wanted the kid.) "He was unorthodox," says Haas, who now scouts for the Arizona Diamondbacks. "He had an extreme crouch—his thighs were almost parallel to the ground. And he was heavier than he is now. But the more I watched him, the more I just thought, Throw the tools out the window. This guy can play baseball."
  7. (vulgar, informal) A penis, notably with a sexual or erotic connotation.
    Synonyms: see Thesaurus:penis
  8. (by extension, vulgar, slang, derogatory) An obnoxious or uptight person.
    Synonyms: see Thesaurus:jerk
    Hyponym: power tool
    He won't sell us tickets because it's 3:01, and they went off sale at 3. That guy's such a tool.
  9. (slang, Canada, US, MTE, MLE, and possibly wider) A handgun.
    Synonyms: see Thesaurus:weapon
    • 2019 February 1, Burna Bandz (lyrics and music), “Goons” (track 13), in Compact Burna‎[5]:
      In my city keep a tool
      Lil nigga you know the rules

Derived terms

Translations

The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables. See instructions at Wiktionary:Entry layout § Translations.
Translations to be checked

References

Verb

tool (third-person singular simple present tools, present participle tooling, simple past and past participle tooled)

  1. (transitive) To work on or shape with tools, e.g., hand-tooled leather.
  2. (transitive) To equip with tools.
  3. (intransitive) To work very hard.
    • 1965, Matt Fichtenbaum, Dan Murphy, “The Institute Screw”, in The Broadside of Boston, volume III, number 22:
      Do this lab and read this book, now tool, one and all,
      And be sure and pass that final quiz or be screwed right to the wall.
  4. (transitive, slang) To put down another person (possibly in a subtle, hidden way), and in that way to use him or her to meet a goal.
    Dude, he's not your friend. He's just tooling you.
  5. (transitive, volleyball) To intentionally attack the ball so that it deflects off a blocker out of bounds.
  6. (transitive, UK, slang, dated) To drive (a coach or other vehicle).
  7. (transitive, UK, slang, dated) To carry or convey in a coach or other vehicle.
    • 1850s, Cuthbert M. Bede, The Adventures of Mr. Verdant Green
      Among those who seemed disposed to join in this opinion was the Jehu of the Warwickshire coach, who expressed his conviction to our hero, that "he wos a young gent as had much himproved hisself since he tooled him up to the Warsity with his guvnor."
  8. (intransitive, slang) To travel in a vehicle; to ride or drive.
    • March 8, 1890, Byron P. Stephenson, "My Trip to Brazil", in Illustrated American
      boys on their bicycles tooling along the well-kept roads
    • 2011, Ben Aaronovitch, Rivers of London, Gollancz, published 2011, page 324:
      These are the guys that tool around in Mercedes Sprinter vans with equipment lockers stuffed with everything from riot helmets to tasers.

Synonyms

  • (volleyball): use

Derived terms

Translations

The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables. See instructions at Wiktionary:Entry layout § Translations.
Translations to be checked

References

  1. ^ Carus, Paul (1893) The philosophy of the tool, Chicago: The Open Court Publishing Company, pages 3-4
  2. ^ Hall, John Richard Clark (1960) A Concise Anglo-Saxon Dictionary, 4 edition, Supplement by Herbert D. Merritt, Cambridge University Press, published 1984, →ISBN, page 338 & 345

Anagrams

Dutch

Etymology

Unadapted borrowing from English tool.

Pronunciation

Noun

tool m (plural tools, diminutive tooltje n)

  1. a tool, aid, instrument, auxiliary device
    Synonym: hulpmiddel

Estonian

FWOTD – 11 April 2014
 
Estonian Wikipedia has an article on:
Wikipedia et
 
Tool

Etymology

From Middle Low German stôl, ultimately from Proto-Germanic *stōlaz.

Pronunciation

Noun

tool (genitive tooli, partitive tooli)

  1. chair
    1. A seat with four legs and a backrest for one person.
      • 1968, Peet Vallak, Tuuled ümber maja: Novellivalimik, page 200:
        Siis läks kogu ta vallasvara oksjonile ning mõni siiasiginenud tool, laud, voodi, kapp ja sööginõud olid nüüd seaduslikult naise-ema omad.
        Then all his personal property was put up for auction and any chair, table, bed, or dishes he had taken possession now belonged legitimately to his mother-in-law.

Declension

Declension of tool (ÕS type 22e/riik, length gradation)
singular plural
nominative tool toolid
accusative nom.
gen. tooli
genitive toolide
partitive tooli toole
toolisid
illative tooli
toolisse 		toolidesse
toolesse
inessive toolis toolides
tooles
elative toolist toolidest
toolest
allative toolile toolidele
toolele
adessive toolil toolidel
toolel
ablative toolilt toolidelt
toolelt
translative tooliks toolideks
tooleks
terminative toolini toolideni
essive toolina toolidena
abessive toolita toolideta
comitative tooliga toolidega

Derived terms

References

Middle English

Etymology 1

From Old English tōl, from Proto-Germanic *tōlą.

Alternative forms

Pronunciation

Noun

tool (plural toles or tolen)

  2. A tool, implement, or instrument.
  3. An instrument of war; an armament.
  4. (rare) A device used for torturing or interrogration.
  5. (rare, vulgar) A penis.
Descendants
  • English: tool
  • Scots: tuil
References

Etymology 2

Noun

tool

  2. Alternative form of toll.

Wolof

Pronunciation

Noun

tool (definite form tool bi)

  1. field
  2. garden

References

Omar Ka (2018) Nanu Dégg Wolof, National African Language Resource Center, →ISBN, page 255

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Note 1
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