Machining

Part of speech: noun, verb

Definitions

1. The technique in which materials are shaped and finished through the use of cutting tools involves precise removal of material
2. A method that entails the transformation of solid materials into desired forms by the removal of excess material through cutting processes
3. The practice that involves shaping and refining materials using various cutting tools aims to achieve specific dimensions and finishes

Etymology: Machining is the work of shaping metal by cutting it, and the word takes its shape from "machine," which began as a term for a clever contrivance. The Latin "māchina" meant an engine, device or contrivance, and it carried a sense of cunning: a stratagem or trick could also be a "māchina." The Greek source, "mēkhanē," meant much the same, a means devised to overcome a problem. The Greek word is the root of "mechanical" as well. English took "machine" through Middle French, and it displaced the native Old English word "searu," which meant something closer to a device or contraption made with skill. So the word for the devices we now call machines pushed out an older Germanic one, and it did so with a Mediterranean word that had been about cleverness as much as about hardware. Machining is the present participle and gerund of "machine," so it names both the activity and the process of using machine tools to cut metal.

Synonyms: manufacturing, fabricating, shaping