bevel
BEV-ul
/ˈbevəl/
An angled surface cut across the edge or corner of a board or glass sheet, not at a 90-degree right angle.
Used both for aesthetic edge softening and for joint preparation where two angled pieces meet.
The story behind the word. Rooted in Old French baivel (inclined or slanted), this term has been used by stone masons and carpenters since medieval times to describe sloped cut faces.
Word relationships
- chamfer: A 'chamfer' is specifically a 45-degree flat bevel cut on an edge, whereas 'bevel' can be any non-right angle sloping face across the full depth.
- slope: 'Slope' is a general term for an incline, while 'bevel' specifically refers to cut edges on wood, glass, or stone.
- square: A precise 90-degree right angle.
Commonly confused with
- bevel vs miter: A bevel slants across the thickness/edge of a board; a miter slants across the face/width of a board.
Word family
- beveled (adjective): Having a sloping, angled edge.
Collocations
- beveled edge
- bevel gauge
- slight bevel
- bevel cut
Example sentences
- "The artisan carved a subtle bevel around the mirror frame to catch the ambient sunlight." Fine Cabinetry
- "You must sharpen the secondary bevel of your chisel on a whetstone at precisely twenty-five degrees." Tool Maintenance
Memory hook
BEVEL slopes down like a BEVERAGE poured from an angled pitcher. BEVEL = Board Edge Vertically Slanted.
When not to use
Do not use to describe a standard 90-degree flat, square edge.
Fun facts
- Beveled glass mirrors were historically prized in Renaissance Europe because the angled edges refracted light like prisms.
Also appears in
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