Webster's English Dictionary

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anvil

an.vil \'an-v*l\ n [ME anfilt, fr. OE; akin to OHG anafalz anvil; both fr. 
   a prehistor]ic WGmc compound whose first constituent is represented by OE 
   an on, and whose second constituent is akin to Sw dial. filta to beat; akin 
   to L pellere to beat - more at ON, FELT 1: a heavy usu. steel-faced iron 
   block on which metal is shaped  2: INCUS