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axe

noun
/æks/

Etymology

From Middle English ax, axe, ex, from Old English æx (“axe”), from Proto-West Germanic *akusi (“axe”), from Proto-Germanic *akwisī (“axe”), probably from a Proto-Indo-European *h₂egʷsih₂ (“axe”), from *h₂eḱ- (“sharp, pointed”). Cognate with Scots aix (“axe”), Dutch aks (“axe”), German Axt (“axe”), Danish økse (“axe”), Faroese and Norwegian øks (“axe”), Icelandic öxi (“axe”), Swedish yxa (“axe”), Latin ascia (“axe, mason's trowel”).

  1. inherited from *h₂egʷsih₂✻
  2. inherited from *akwisī✻
  3. inherited from *akusi✻
  4. inherited from æx
  5. inherited from ax

Definitions

  1. A tool for felling trees or chopping wood etc. consisting of a heavy head flattened to a…

    A tool for felling trees or chopping wood etc. consisting of a heavy head flattened to a blade on one side, and a handle attached to it.

  2. An ancient weapon consisting of a head that has one or two blades and a long handle.

  3. A dismissal or rejection.

    • His girlfriend/boss/schoolmaster gave him the axe.
  4. ›+ 10 more definitions

    1. A drastic reduction or cutback.

      • the Beeching Axe
      • The tractor plant is slated for the axe.
      • I had a job in the great North Woods Workin' as a cook for a spell But I never did like it all that much And one day the axe just fell

    2. A gigging musician's particular instrument, especially a guitar in rock music or a…

      A gigging musician's particular instrument, especially a guitar in rock music or a saxophone in jazz.

    3. A position, interest, or reason in buying and selling stock, often with ulterior motives.

      • A financial dealer has an axe in a stock that his buyers don't know about, giving him an advantage in making the most profit.

    4. To fell or chop with an axe.

    5. To lay off, terminate or drastically reduce, especially in a rough or ruthless manner

      To lay off, terminate or drastically reduce, especially in a rough or ruthless manner; to cancel.

      • The government announced its plans to axe public spending.
      • The broadcaster axed the series because far fewer people than expected watched it.
      • He got axed in the last round of firings.

    6. The axle of a wheel.

    7. To furnish with an axle.

    8. Alternative form of ask.

      • Axe and it ſhalbe geven you. Seke and ye ſhall fynd / Knocke and it ſhalbe opened vnto you.
      • I axe you—have I said one word about that little matter to-day?
      • I axe him to sit down and drink some of my wine, but he says no thanks, he just come to axe me a question.

    9. A river in Dorset, Somerset, and east Devon, England, which flows into Lyme Bay at Seaton.

    10. A river in Somerset, England, which flows into the Bristol Channel at Weston-super-Mare.

The neighborhood

Derived

axeblade, axe bombing, Axe Creek, axe head, axe kick, axeless, axelike, axeman, axemanship, axe murder, axe-murder, axe-murderer, axe murderer, axe throwing, axe to grind, axewoman, axe wound, Bad Axe, battle-axe, boarding axe, break-axe, broadaxe, curtal-axe, curt-axe, curtle-axe, dagger-axe, give the axe, greataxe, Hagen axe, hand axe, have an axe to grind, ice axe, ice-axe, mad as a meat axe, man with the axe, meat axe, moot-axe, pick-axe, pole-axe, poleaxe · +6 more

Vish — recursive loop

A definitional loop anchored at axe. Each word in the ring is defined by the next; follow the chain far enough and it folds back on itself. Scroll to it and watch.

01axe02rejection03rejecting04reject05block06rectangular07axes

A definitional loop anchored at axe. Each word in the ring appears in the definition of the next; follow the chain far enough and it folds back on itself.

7 hops · closes at axe

curated · pre-corpus. live cycle detection across the full graph is the next major milestone.

sense glosses and etymology drawn from English Wiktionary · source · CC-BY-SA