poleax
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American Heritage Dictionary (3)
- noun An ax having a hammer face opposite the blade, used to slaughter cattle.
- noun A medieval battle-ax consisting of a long shaft ending in an ax or a combination of an ax, hammer, and pick.
- transitive verb To strike or fell with or as if with a poleax: "When a gang of doves circled above the flowing water and swooped in to feed, he poleaxed the leader with a clean head shot” (William Hoffman).
Century Dictionary
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Elsewhere on the web
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- Kireno dodged the sweep of a poleax and charged in before the guard could recover. — Nemesis
- Takara said nothing, but held the poleax shaft over the guard's head. — Nemesis
- The poleax tipped up and followed him into oblivion. — Nemesis
- There was no chink or crack in the mortar. — Dragons Of A Lost Star
- His smile was a poleax, and my knees buckled. — Kat Richardson - Greywalker 1 - Greywalker (v2.0)
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View all »Etymologies (1)
American Heritage Dictionary (1)
- Middle English, alteration (influenced by pole, long piece of wood) of pollax : poll, head; see poll + ax, ax; see ax1.
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