the.com/chamfer
The beveled edge that keeps sharp corners from ruining your life and your furniture.
means A chamfer is the flat, angled surface you get when you slice off a sharp 90-degree edge or corner.
from Chamfer comes from French chanfrein, itself likely built from chant (edge, side) plus fraindre (to break), from Latin frangere — so the word, at its root, means roughly 'broken edge.' It entered English in the 1600s through woodworking and stonemasonry, where cutting that little angled relief kept edges from chipping — which is fitting, since the word itself was born from the idea of breaking an edge on purpose, before it splinters on its own.
- not a round
- flat angled cut, usually 45 degrees, unlike a rounded fillet
- etymology
- from French chanfrein, meaning slanted edge
- everywhere
- screw heads, countertops, pencils, phone edges all chamfered
- function
- removes stress-concentrating sharp corners that crack under load