Recent Examples on the WebThe video takes a turn after an anvil drops on Perry.—Brendan Morrow, USA TODAY, 15 July 2024 The visual finds Perry dressed as a pin-up girl and working on a construction site before being hit by an anvil.—Mitchell Peters, Billboard, 14 July 2024 Elsewhere, she gets crushed under a gigantic anvil and shoves a gas nozzle into her butt to refuel.—Larisha Paul, Rolling Stone, 11 July 2024 Taylor's anvil firing honors Founding Fathers' 'courage and persistence'
Two anvils with historic backstories are stacked up at the local ballfield, sandwiching a metal pipe holding gunpowder.—Mary Jo Pitzl, The Arizona Republic, 29 June 2024 See all Example Sentences for anvil
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'anvil.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Word History
Etymology
Middle English anfeld, anefelt, anvelt, anvyll, going back to Old English anfealt and anefilt, anelfilte, going back to Germanic *ana-falta- and *ana-feltja- (whence also, from the first, Old High German anafalz "anvil" and from the second, Middle Dutch aenvilte, anevilte), from *ana- "on" and *-falta-, *-feltja-, nominal derivatives from *faltan-, taken to mean "to strike, beat" — more at felt entry 1
Note:
The word anvil was originally a deverbal compound meaning in effect "the thing on which striking is done." Already in Old English the makeup of the compound would have been less than transparent, as a verb corresponding to the deverbal second element -fealt/-filt(e) does not appear to have existed (or at least is not attested). Such a verb does exist in Old High German, though only in extended and/or specialized senses (see the note at felt entry 1). Parallel to *ana-falta-/*ana-feltja- were other Germanic compounds meaning "anvil": *ana-bauta- (whence Middle Low German anebōt, ambōt, Old High German anabōz, present-day German Amboß), from *bautan- "to strike, beat" (see beat entry 1); and *ana-baltja- (whence Middle Low German ānebelte, Middle Dutch aenbelt, Dutch aanbeeld, Old High German anabelzi) and *ana-bulta- (whence Middle Low German ānebolt, ambolt, Old High German anabolz), from the verbal base behind Old English bolt "bolt, arrow," Old High German bolz "bolt, hot iron" (see bolt entry 1). It has been suggested that all the Germanic compounds are calques on Latin incūd-. incūs "anvil," formed from in-in- entry 2 + cūdere "to beat, strike, hammer." Alternatively, the formation of such nouns may have been a European areal feature; compare Russian nakovál'nja "anvil," from na- "on" and a derivative of the verb kovát' "to hammer, forge," Bosnian-Croatian-Serbian nâkōvanj.
First Known Use
before the 12th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1
Time Traveler
The first known use of anvil was
before the 12th century
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