English Explanatory Dictionary

hatchet

English dictionary entry

Meanings

noun
  1. A small, light axe with a short handle; a tomahawk.
  2. Belligerence, animosity; harsh criticism.
verb
  1. To cut with a hatchet.

Pronunciation

/ˈhæt͡ʃɪt/ LL-Q1860 (eng)-Vealhurl-hatchet.wav

Word forms

hatchet hatchets hatcheting hatchetting hatcheted hatchetted

Etymology

From Middle English hachet, a borrowing from Old French hachete, diminutive of hache (“axe”), from Vulgar Latin *happia, from Frankish *happjā, from Proto-Germanic *hapjǭ, *habjǭ (“knife”), from Proto-Indo-European *kop- (“to strike, to beat”). Cognate with Old High German happa, heppa, habba (“reaper, sickle”), German Hippe (“billhook”), Dutch heep, hiep (“billhook”), and Ancient Greek κοπίς (kopís). Mostly displaced native Old English handæx, whence Modern English hand axe.

Derived words

bury the hatchet hatchetation hatchet face hatchet-faced hatchetfish hatchet job hatchetlike hatchet man hatchet wound hatchety sling the hatchet take up the hatchet throw the hatchet
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