1911 Encyclopædia Britannica/Scissors

SCISSORS, a cutting instrument, consisting of two crossed blades with the inner edges sharpened, pivoted at the crossing, and terminating with two looped handles for the insertion of the fingers of the person using them. The term is usually confined to small cutting implements, the larger being known as “shears” (q.v.). The modern form of the word points to a derivation from Lat. scindere, to cleave or cut, and is no doubt due to Lat. scissor, a cutter, which was used only of a carver, a butcher and a class of gladiators, never of a cutting instrument; but the earlier forms, cysowres, sisoures, cisors, cissers, sizers, &c., show the origin to be found in O. Fr. cisoires, shears, mod. ciseaux, plural of ciseau, earlier cisel, a chisel, and therefore to be referred to Lat. caedere, to cut, cisorium, a cutting instrument.