lewis
See also: Lewis
English
[edit]Etymology
[edit]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.
Pronunciation
[edit]Noun
[edit]lewis (plural lewises)
- A cramp iron inserted into a cavity in order to lift heavy stones; used as a symbol of strength in Freemasonry.
- Synonym: lewisson
- (by extension, figurative) The son of a Freemason, envisaged as assisting his father in heavy work or in old age.
- A kind of shears used in cropping woollen cloth.
- 1835, Andrew Ure, The philosophy of manufactures, page 203:
- After the preeming period, the lads are put either to the gig-machines, or to the lewises in the cutting or shearing-room.