Word Origins

 

*CROWBAR

Dating back to circa 1400, someone discovered that if the end of the ordinary iron rod were sharpened to a point or beak, its use as a lever would be more effective. Someone then likened that shaping to the beak of a crow—especially of one curved or bent near its wedge-shaped end. They also were called simply crows, or iron crows. Several centuries later, steelmakers noted that the desired crow must have a "beak" on both ends.

*Inspired by Charles Funk (1881–1957)