sax

S1A1X8
/sæks/

noun

A knife or sword; a dagger about 50 cm (20 inches) in length.

Similar
saxophone
OriginMiddle English sax ← Old English seax ← Proto-West Germanic *sahs →
CommonScrabble 10
Ask AI about this wordChatGPTClaudePerplexityGoogle AIGrok

Meanings

sax1

nounsax (plural saxes)

plural saxes

  1. alternativeAlternative spelling of zax.
  2. obsoleteA knife or sword; a dagger about 50 cm (20 inches) in length.
  3. historicalAn early medieval type of machete common with the Germanic peoples.
verbsax (third-person singular simple present saxes, present participle saxing, simple past and past participle saxed)

present singular third person saxes · participle present saxing · participle past saxed · past saxed

  1. UKdialectaltransitiveTo cut or slash with a sharp instrument; incise; scarify.

sax2

nounsax (plural saxes)

plural saxes

  1. abbreviationclippingClipping of saxophone.
verbsax (third-person singular simple present saxes, present participle saxing, simple past and past participle saxed)

present singular third person saxes · participle present saxing · participle past saxed · past saxed

  1. To play the saxophone

sax3

nounsax (plural saxes)

plural saxes

  1. fashiona shade of colour similar to sky blue

SAX4

proper noun
  1. InternetabbreviationacronymcomputingAcronym of Simple API for XML.

Sax5

proper nounSax (plural Saxes)

plural Saxes

  1. A surname.

Synonyms & antonyms

nouna single-reed woodwind with a conical bore

Similar
saxophone
Broader
single-reed instrumentsingle-reed woodwind
Also see
saxophone

Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.

Origin

sax · noun, verb

  1. Proto-Indo-European*sek-“to cut”
  2. Proto-Germanic*sahsą“stone chip, knife”
  3. Proto-West Germanic*sahs
  4. Old Englishseax“a knife, hip-knife, an instrument for cutting, a short sword, dirk, dagger”
  5. Middle Englishsax
  6. Englishsax

From Middle English sax, sex, from Old English seax (“a knife, hip-knife, an instrument for cutting, a short sword, dirk, dagger”), from Proto-West Germanic *sahs, from Proto-Germanic *sahsą (“stone chip, knife”), from Proto-Indo-European *sek- (“to cut”). Doublet of seax and zax.

More words from Middle English, Old English, Proto-West Germanic

Full word history & related roots →

sax · noun, verb

Clipping of saxophone. Distantly related to etymology 1 above, because the “Sax” surname is a cognate.

Full word history & related roots →

sax · noun

Clipping of saxe blue, from the name of the region of Saxony.

Full word history & related roots →

Sax · proper noun

  1. Proto-Indo-European*sek-
  2. Proto-Germanic*sahsą
  3. Proto-West Germanic*sahs
  4. Proto-West Germanic*Sahsō
  5. Old High GermanSahso
  6. Middle High GermanSahse
  7. GermanSachse
  8. GermanSachs
  9. EnglishSax

Derived from German Sachs, from Sachse, from Middle High German Sahse, from Old High German Sahso, from Proto-West Germanic *Sahsō (“Saxon”), from *sahs, from Proto-Germanic *sahsą, from Proto-Indo-European *sek-.

More words from German

Full word history & related roots →

Rhymes & wordplay

Rhymes with sax

taxfaxmaxfactsrelaxrackswaxblacksbacksaxhacksjacksaxelaxsackspaxflaxvaxaksraxzaxcacksbanjaxchillax
All rhymes →

Sounds the same

sacksSacksSachsSaxsacksSacksSachsSaxsacksSacksSachsSaxsacksSacksSachsSaxsacksSacksSachsSax
Cite this entry
APA

sax. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/sax

MLA

“sax.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/sax. Accessed November 2, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “sax,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/sax.

Source: sax on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.