pickaxe

Etymology

Inherited from Middle English pykeaxe, pecaxe, pyke exe (“pickaxe”), an alteration (due to folk etymology association with pick and axe) of Middle English pikeyse, pikeys, pykois, from Anglo-Norman *pikeis, Old French picois, pecois, from Latin picōsa (“pickaxe”), from picca, ultimately from Proto-West Germanic *pīk (“sharp point, pike”). Doublet of pique and pike.

noun

  1. A heavy iron tool with a wooden handle; one end of the head is pointed, the other has a chisel edge.

verb

  1. To use a pickaxe.

Attribution / Disclaimer All definitions come directly from Wiktionary using the Wiktextract library. We do not edit or curate the definitions for any words, if you feel the definition listed is incorrect or offensive please suggest modifications directly to the source (wiktionary/pickaxe), any changes made to the source will update on this page periodically.