Wiktionary

axe

See also: Axe and axé

English

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Etymology 1

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An axe

From Middle English ax, axe, ex, from Old English æx, from Proto-West Germanic *akusi, from Proto-Germanic *akwisī, probably from a Proto-Indo-European *h₂egʷsih₂ (“axe”), from *h₂eḱ- (“sharp, pointed”). Compare German Axt, Dutch aks, Danish økse, Icelandic öxi, and also Latin ascia.

Alternative forms

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Pronunciation

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  • enPR: ăks, IPA(key): /æks/
  • Audio (US):(file)
  • Rhymes: -æks

Noun

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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
    His girlfriend/boss/schoolmaster gave him the axe.
  4. (figurative) A drastic reduction or cutback.
    the Beeching Axe
    • 1975, Bob Dylan (lyrics and music), “Tangled Up in Blue”, in Blood on the Tracks:
      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
    • 1994, Tony Scotland, The Empty Throne: The Quest for an Imperial Heir in the People's Republic of China‎[1], Penguin Books, →ISBN, →OCLC, →OL, page 103:
      But P'u-yi was nothing if not soft when it came to family, and he arranged for the young man to live with his uncle Beitzu P'u-hsiu in P'u-yi's old house in T'ien-ching. So Yü-t'ai was well clear of Ch'ang-ch'un when the axe fell in 1945.
    • 2023 March 8, Howard Johnston, “Was Marples the real railway wrecker?”, in RAIL, number 978, page 50:
      Back in 1963, how could Beeching advocate closure of the electrified Liverpool-Southport commuter route, just because its books didn't balance? The busy North London line between Richmond and Broad Street was also for the axe, as was Leeds to Bradford and Ilkley.
  5. (slang, music) A gigging musician's particular instrument, especially a guitar in rock music or a saxophone in jazz.
  6. (finance) 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.
Usage notes
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  • 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.
Hyponyms
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Derived terms
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Translations
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The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables. See instructions at Wiktionary:Entry layout § Translations.
Translations to be checked
See also
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Verb

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

  1. (transitive) To fell or chop with an axe.
  2. (transitive, figurative) 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
    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.
    • 2020 February 12, Mark Sweney, “Mobile World Congress axed after firms quit over coronavirus fears”, in The Guardian‎[2]:
      On Wednesday, GSMA, which organises the congress, was forced to admit it would have to axe this year’s event after more than 40 companies pulled out citing health and safety concerns.
    • 2020 June 17, Philip Haigh, “Capital for the capital to meet London's transport needs”, in Rail, page 28:
      The Department for Transport axed TfL's central grant in 2015, when Boris Johnson was London mayor.
Translations
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Etymology 2

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Alternative forms

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Noun

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axe (plural axes)

  1. (archaic) The axle of a wheel.

Verb

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

  1. To furnish with an axle.

Etymology 3

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

Verb

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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
    • 1526, [William Tyndale, transl.], The Newe Testamẽt […] (Tyndale Bible), [Worms, Germany: Peter Schöffer], →OCLC, The Gospell off S. Mathew vij:[7], folio ix, recto:
      Axe and it ſhalbe geven you. Seke and ye ſhall fynd / Knocke and it ſhalbe opened vnto you.
    • 1904, Jr. John Fox, “The Army of the Callahan”, in Christmas Eve on Lonesome and Other Stories‎[3]:
      I axe you—have I said one word about that little matter to-day?
    • 2013 November 18, Loren D. Estleman, Edsel, Stress, and Motown (The Detroit Novels; I)‎[4], →ISBN, page 140:
      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.

Further reading

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Anagrams

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French

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Etymology

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Borrowed from Latin axis. Compare the inherited doublet ais.

Pronunciation

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Noun

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axe m (plural axes)

  1. axis
  2. axle

Derived terms

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Descendants

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  • → Turkish: aks

Further reading

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Galician

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Etymology 1

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Unknown. Cognate with Spanish aje.[1]

Pronunciation

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Noun

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axe m (plural axes)

  1. ache
  2. affront
    Synonym: afronta

References

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  1. ^ Joan Coromines, José A[ntonio] Pascual (1983–1991) “aje”, in Diccionario crítico etimológico castellano e hispánico [Critic Castilian and Hispanic Etymological Dictionary] (in Spanish), Madrid: Gredos

Etymology 2

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Verb

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axe

  1. inflection of axar:
    1. first-person singular present subjunctive
    2. third-person singular present subjunctive
    3. third-person singular imperative
  2. inflection of axir:
    1. third-person singular present indicative
    2. second-person singular imperative

Interlingua

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Noun

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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

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Noun

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axe

  1. ablative singular of axis

Middle English

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Etymology 1

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From Old English æx.

Noun

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axe

  1. Alternative form of ax

Etymology 2

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From Old English ǣsce, from Proto-Germanic *aiskijǭ.

Alternative forms

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Pronunciation

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Noun

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axe

  1. (rare) An ask or demand.
Descendants
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  • English: ask (if not formed from the verb)
References
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Etymology 3

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From Old English æsce.

Noun

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axe

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

Etymology 4

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From Old English āscian.

Verb

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axe

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

Old English

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Noun

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axe f

  1. Alternative form of æsċe
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