Trowell

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. A small handheld tool with a flat, rectangular blade used for applying, spreading, or smoothing materials like mortar, plaster, or putty
2. A hand implement featuring a wide flat blade, employed by builders and craftspeople to work with cement, grout, or similar substances
3. A gardener's or mason's implement with a compact flat blade designed for spreading, leveling, or scraping materials onto surfaces

Etymology: The tool in a mason's hand is named after a kitchen utensil. The root is Latin "trulla," a small ladle or scoop, and the flat blade that spreads mortar was named for its resemblance to one. The shape of the blade explains the name: a scoop that has been flattened and turned to spread rather than to hold. Over the centuries the word passed through Old French "truelle" into English, where it has been spelled several ways, including this older form "trowell." Its meaning stayed close to the original tool, and the same name was later applied to garden implements of similar design.