Notchboard

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. A board designed with cutouts to aid in measuring or aligning features in construction and craft applications
2. A flat surface that includes a series of grooves or cutouts for the purpose of facilitating measurement or alignment in various construction or artistic tasks
3. A panel featuring indents or slots intended to assist users in accurately measuring or positioning elements in crafting or building activities

Etymology: "Notchboard" is a plain compound: "notch" joined to "board". A notch is a V-shaped or rectangular cut into an edge or surface, and the word itself came into English from Old French "oche" or "ochier" (uncertain), so the notch half is the older and more interesting element, while the board half is an ordinary English word for a flat sheet of wood. Put together, the term names a board that has been cut with notches, most often one used to hold or guide something by fitting into those cuts. Because the two parts are so transparent, the word needs little explanation beyond its literal sense. It follows the same pattern as many other English compounds in which a noun describing a feature is placed before "board," such as "washboard" or "sideboard," where the first element names what the board is shaped or equipped with.