kerf
/kɜː(ɹ)f/noun, verb
kerf is spelled K-E-R-F: 4 letters. It appears about once in every 14 million words in written English, the 114,361st most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a noun, kerf means “The groove or slit created by cutting or sawing something; an incision” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of kerf is kerfs.
How many letters and syllables are in kerf?
| Letters | 4: K-E-R-F |
|---|---|
| In writing | about once in every 14 million words; the 114,361st most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How common is kerf?
Kerf appears about once in every 14 million words in written English, the 114,361st most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce kerf?
- /kɜː(ɹ)f/
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: En-us-kerf.ogg, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Forms of kerf
- kerfs plural, present, singular, he/she/it
- kerfing participle, present
- kerfed participle, past
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does kerf mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 1
archaicThe act of cutting or carving something; a stroke or slice.
- 2
The groove or slit created by cutting or sawing something; an incision.
- 3
The portion or quantity (e.g. of wood, hay, turf, wool, etc.) removed or cut off in a given stroke.
- 4
The distance between diverging saw teeth.
- 5
The flattened, cut-off end of a branch or tree; a stump or sawn-off cross-section.
verb
- 1
To cut a piece of wood or other material with several kerfs to allow it to be bent.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Kerf in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does kerf come from?
From Middle English kerf, kirf, kyrf, from Old English cyrf (“an act of cutting, a cutting off; a cutting instrument”), from Proto-West Germanic *kurbi, from Proto-Germanic *kurbiz (“a cut; notch; clipping”), from Proto-Indo-European *gerbʰ- (“to scratch”). Cognate with Saterland Frisian Käärf, West Frisian kerf, Swedish korv. Related also to Dutch kerf, German Low German Karve, Karv, German Kerbe.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).