Meanings
plural hand axes · alternative hand-axe · alternative handaxe · alternative hand ax · alternative hand-ax · alternative handax
- now chiefly fantasy and roleplaying gamesA hatchet or throwing axe.
- A prehistoric stone tool made by flaking to produce an edge, used without a handle.
Synonyms & antonyms
nouna stone tool with a cutting edge; the stone is held in the hand and used for chopping
Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.
Origin
- Proto-Germanic*handakwisī
- Old Englishhandæx“hatchet”
- Middle Englishhand-ax
- Englishhand axe
From Middle English hand-ax, handax, handex, hond axe, from Old English handæx (“hatchet”), from Proto-Germanic *handakwisī. By surface analysis, hand + axe.
More words from Middle English, Old English, Proto-Germanic
Full word history & related roots →Cite this entry
hand axe. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/hand%20axe
“hand axe.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/hand%20axe. Accessed November 3, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “hand axe,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/hand%20axe.
Source: hand axe on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.