Carving

Carving. To carve (A.S. ceorfan: connected with Gr. γράφειν) is to cut, whatever the material; but apart from the domestic sense of carving meat, the word is more particularly associated with the art of sculpture. The name of sculptor (see Sculpture) is commonly reserved for the great masters of the art, especially in stone and marble, while that of carver is given to the artists or workmen who execute the subordinate decorations of architecture. The word is also specially applied to sculpture in ivory (q.v.) and its substitutes, and in wood (see Wood-Carving) and other soft materials (see also Gem.)