axe

axe · noun, verb¹

1. Proto-Indo-European · inherited from*h₂egʷsih₂“axe”
2. Proto-Germanic · inherited from*akwisī“axe”
3. Proto-West Germanic · inherited from*akusi“axe”
4. Old English · inherited fromæx“axe”
5. Middle English · inherited fromax
6. English todayaxe

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, Norwegian Bokmål, and Norwegian Nynorsk øks (“axe”), Icelandic öxi (“axe”), Swedish yxa (“axe”), Latin ascia (“axe, mason's trowel”).

axe · noun, verb²

1. Latin · derived fromaxis
2. French · derived fromaxe
3. English todayaxe

Derived from French axe, from Latin axis.

axe · verb³

1. Old English · derived fromaxian“ask”
2. English todayaxe

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

Axe · proper noun⁴

1. Proto-Brythonic · derived from*Uɨsk
2. English todayAxe

Ultimately derived from Proto-Brythonic *Uɨsk, a river name perhaps originally meaning "abundant in fish". Cognate with the river names Esk, Exe, and Usk.

Words from the same roots