Sawlike

Part of speech: adjective

Definitions

1. Having a jagged, toothed edge or outline like the blade of a saw
2. Shaped or edged in a way that resembles the serrated teeth of a saw
3. Looking like a saw, with a row of sharp projections along an edge

Etymology: "Sawlike" is about as transparent as English compounds get: it joins "saw," the cutting tool with a toothed blade, to the suffix "-like," meaning "resembling." Put together, the word describes anything with a row of sharp, jagged edges, such as a serrated leaf, a fish's dorsal spines, or a mountain ridge. The interesting part is what the word leaves out. "Saw" is itself an old word, inherited from Old English "sagu," and it has long been used for the tool as well as the action of cutting. The suffix "-like" has been attached to nouns in English for centuries to form adjectives of resemblance, so "sawlike" slots neatly into a pattern that produces hundreds of similar formations.

Synonyms: serrated, toothed, jagged

Antonyms: smooth