hatchet

Meaning

Noun

1. A small, light axe with a short handle; a tomahawk.
2. Belligerence, animosity; harsh criticism.

Verb

To cut with a hatchet.

Synonyms

axe

🪓

ax

tomahawk

battle-axe

chopper

small axe

adze

head

mattock

pickax

pickaxe

poleax

broad hatchet

do down

half hatchet

axe head

battle-ax

carpet

cleaver

cut off

halberd

Pronounced as (IPA)

/ˈhæt͡ʃɪt/

Etymology

Inherited from Middle English: hachet

Cognate with Old High German: happa

Cognate with German: Hippe

Cognate with Dutch: heep

Cognate with Ancient Greek: κοπίς

In summary

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.