sax

Etymology 1

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 zax.

noun

  1. A slate-cutter’s hammer; slate-ax.
  2. (obsolete) A knife or sword; a dagger about 50 cm (20 inches) in length.

verb

  1. (transitive, Britain dialectal) To cut or slash with a sharp instrument; incise; scarify.

Etymology 2

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

noun

  1. Clipping of saxophone.

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