Meaning
Any physical device meant to ease or do a task.
Etymology
Origin: Old English
From Middle English tool, tol, from Old English tōl (“tool, implement, instrument”, literally “that with which one prepares something”), perhaps borrowed from Old Norse tól, but at any rate ultimately from Proto-Germanic *tōlą (“that which is used in preparation, tool”), from Proto-Indo-European *dewh₂- (“to tie to, secure”), equivalent to taw (“to prepare”) + -le (agent suffix). Cognate with Scots tuil (“tool, implement, instrument, device”), Icelandic tól (“tool”), Faroese tól (“tool, instrument”). Related to Old English tāwian (“to make, prepare, or cultivate”); see taw, and tow ("fibres used for spinning").
Synonyms & Antonyms
NYT Puzzle Appearances
Accepted in 43 recorded puzzles:
- 2026-07-26OACHILT
- 2026-07-14TCILORV
- 2026-06-06OEILNTW
- 2026-05-30OAILNTV
- 2026-05-22OATHINL
- 2026-05-17LACDORT
- 2026-03-30TBELNOV
- 2026-02-24OCFILNT
- 2026-02-09TACIKLO
- 2026-01-29TEOHGLY
- 2025-12-21TOALCBK
- 2025-11-23LBTOMNE
+31 earlier appearances in the archive.