bezel

Definition

The sloping edge or face on a cutting tool.

Etymology

Borrowed from French bisel, a dialectal variant of biseau (“sloping edge”), a variation on bijou (“jewel”), itself from Breton bisou, bizou (“ring worn on the finger”), from biz (“finger”). Unrelated to similar bevel, which is of a different French origin.

Example Sentences

• "“There,” she went on, “it must be one like to it, and yet never did I see one like to it, for thereto hung a history, and he who wore it prized it much. But the scarab that I knew was not set thus in the bezel of a ring."
• "Modern smartphones have very thin bezels."

Related Words