different between axe vs pickaxe

English

Etymology 1

From Middle English ax, axe, ex, from Old English æx, from Proto-West Germanic *akusi, from Proto-Germanic *akwis?, probably from a Proto-Indo-European *h?eg?sih? (“axe”), from *h?e?- (“sharp, pointed”). Compare German Axt, Danish økse, Icelandic öxi, and also Latin ascia.

Alternative forms

• ax (largely US)

Pronunciation

• enPR: ?ks, IPA^(key): /æks/
• Rhymes: -æks

Noun

axe (plural axes)

1. 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. (informal) A dismissal or rejection.

   Synonyms: chop, pink slip, sack, boot
4. (slang, music) A gigging musician's particular instrument, especially a guitar in rock music or a saxophone in jazz.
5. (finance) A position, interest, or reason in buying and selling stock, often with ulterior motives.

Usage notes

• In the United States, some spell the weapon axe and the tool ax to distinguish them, though most people use the same spelling for both senses.

Derived terms

Translations

See also

• adze
• hatchet
• twibill

Verb

axe (third-person singular simple present axes, present participle axing, simple past and past participle axed)

1. (transitive) To fell or chop with an axe.
2. (transitive, figuratively) To lay off, terminate or drastically reduce, especially in a rough or ruthless manner; to cancel.

   Synonyms: downsize, fire, lay off; see also Thesaurus:lay off

Translations

Etymology 2

Alternative forms

• ax (American)

Noun

axe (plural axes)

1. (archaic) The axle of a wheel.

Verb

axe (third-person singular simple present axes, present participle axing, simple past and past participle axed)

1. To furnish with an axle.

Etymology 3

Old English axian (“ask”); see ax for more.

Verb

axe (third-person singular simple present axes, present participle axing, simple past and past participle axed)

1. (now obsolete outside dialects, especially African-American Vernacular) Alternative form of ask

Further reading

• axe (disambiguation) on Wikipedia.Wikipedia

Anagrams

• exa-

French

Etymology

Borrowed from Latin axis. Compare the inherited doublet ais.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /aks/

Noun

axe m (plural axes)

1. axis
2. axle

Derived terms

Further reading

• “axe” in Trésor de la langue française informatisé (The Digitized Treasury of the French Language).

Galician

Etymology

Unknown. Cognate with Spanish aje.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): [?a??]

Noun

axe m (plural axes)

1. ache
2. affront

   Synonym: afronta

References

• “axe” in Dicionario de Dicionarios da lingua galega, SLI - ILGA 2006-2013.
• “axe” in Tesouro informatizado da lingua galega. Santiago: ILG.
• “axe” in Álvarez, Rosario (coord.): Tesouro do léxico patrimonial galego e portugués, Santiago de Compostela: Instituto da Lingua Galega.

Interlingua

Noun

axe (plural axes)

1. An axis, a straight line that crosses the center of a body and around which it turns.
2. An axle, a bar connecting parallel wheels of a kart, wagon, etc.

Latin

Noun

axe

1. ablative singular of axis

Middle English

Etymology 1

From Old English æx.

Noun

axe

1. Alternative form of ax

Etymology 2

From Old English ?sce, from Proto-Germanic *aiskij?.

Alternative forms

• as

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /aks/

Noun

axe

1. (rare) An ask or demand.

Descendants

• English: ask (if not formed from the verb)

References

• “axe, n.(3).”, in MED Online, Ann Arbor, Mich.: University of Michigan, 2007, retrieved 2018-04-24.

Etymology 3

From Old English æsce.

Noun

axe

1. Alternative form of asshe (“burnt matter”)

Etymology 4

From Old English ?scian.

Verb

axe

1. Alternative form of axen (“to ask”)

English

Alternative forms

• pickax
• pick-axe

Etymology

From Old French picois, later alteration due to folk etymology association with pick and axe.

Pronunciation

• (US) IPA^(key): /?p?k?æks/

Noun

pickaxe (plural pickaxes)

1. A heavy iron tool with a wooden handle; one end of the head is pointed, the other has a chisel edge.

Translations

Verb

pickaxe (third-person singular simple present pickaxes, present participle pickaxing, simple past and past participle pickaxed)

1. To use a pickaxe.

Translations