machete

Etymology

From Spanish machete, diminutive of macho (“sledgehammer”), from Latin mattea, possibly from mactare (“slaughter in sacrifice”); cognate with Old French machier, French massue, English mace.

noun

1. A sword-like tool used for cutting large plants with a chopping motion, or as a weapon. The blade is usually 50 to 65 centimeters long, and up to three millimeters thick.
2. A small stringed instrument from Madeira, Portugal, having a double bulged body, traditionally of wood, with a small rib and four metallic strings, sometimes attached by wooden pegs.

verb

1. To cut or chop with a machete.
   After some hours of intense work, we had macheted a path through the jungle to the bank of the river.
2. To hack or chop crudely with a blade other than a machete.
   You can't just machete about with a rapier and expect to succeed; you need to thrust properly.