hone

noun
/hoʊn/US/həʊn/UK

Etymology

From Middle English hon (“whetstone”), from Old English hān, from Proto-Germanic *hainō (compare Dutch heen, Norwegian hein), from Proto-Indo-European *ḱeh₃i- (“to sharpen”) (compare Ancient Greek κῶνος (kônos, “cone”), Persian سان (sân, “whetstone”)).

  1. derived from *ḱeh₃i- — “to sharpen
  2. inherited from *hainō
  3. inherited from hān
  4. inherited from hon — “whetstone

Definitions

  1. A sharpening stone composed of extra-fine grit used for removing the burr or curl from…

    A sharpening stone composed of extra-fine grit used for removing the burr or curl from the blade of a razor or some other edge tool.

  2. A machine tool used in the manufacture of precision bores.

  3. To sharpen with a hone

    To sharpen with a hone; to whet.

  4. + 8 more definitions
    1. To use a hone to produce a precision bore.

    2. To refine (a skill especially) by learning.

      • He also honed the procedure known as cut and fill - whereby the spoil from railway cuttings was used to build up embankments.
      • Huh? Training in your room under the torchlight / Hone that form to get you ready for the big fight
    3. To make more acute, intense, or effective.

    4. A kind of swelling in the cheek.

    5. To grumble.

      • Such tunges ſhuld be torne out by the harde rootes,
    6. To pine, lament, or long.

      • He lies pitying himself, honing and moaning to himself
    7. Synonym of alas Used to express sorrow, or grief

      • Oh, hone! oh, hone! miserable wretch that I am! Do ye mak confession for me, Sir, and I'll say 't after you, as weel as I dow. Oh, hone! oh, hone!
    8. A surname.

The neighborhood

Vish — recursive loop

A definitional loop anchored at hone. Each word in the ring is defined by the next; follow the chain far enough and it folds back on itself. Scroll to it and watch.

01hone02curl03stroke04blow05air06firmament07geocentric08universe09sum10exercise

A definitional loop anchored at hone. Each word in the ring appears in the definition of the next; follow the chain far enough and it folds back on itself.

10 hops · closes at hone

curated · pre-corpus. live cycle detection across the full graph is the next major milestone.

sense glosses and etymology drawn from English Wiktionary · source · CC-BY-SA