mattock

Meaning

Noun

An agricultural tool whose blades are at right angles to the body, similar to a pickaxe.

Verb

To cut or dig with a mattock.

Synonyms

hoe

pickax

pick

⛏️

pickaxe

spade

spud

hack

shovel

mandrel

moil

pick-axe

picker

plow

scuffle

sharp

sword

tool

weeder

Dutch hoe

épée

scuffle hoe

gad picker

pick mattock

mattock hoe

moyle

chisel

degen

coulter

cultivator

epee

hatchet

heel

hock

katana

Pronounced as (IPA)

/ˈmætək/

Etymology

Inherited from Middle English: mattok

Inherited from Old English: mattuc

Cognate with Old High German: medela

Cognate with Middle High German: metze

Cognate with Latin: mateola

Cognate with Polish: motyka

Cognate with Russian: моты́га

Cognate with Lithuanian: matikkas

Cognate with Sanskrit: मत्य

In summary

From Middle English mattok (“mattock, pickaxe”), from Old English mattuc, meottoc, mettoc (“mattock, fork, trident”), from Proto-West Germanic *mattjuk (“mattock, ploughshare”), from Proto-Indo-European *met- (“to cut, reap”). Related to Old High German medela (“plough”), Middle High German metze, metz (“knife”), Latin mateola (“implement for digging in the soil”), Polish motyka (“hoe, mattock”), Russian моты́га (motýga, “hoe, mattock”), Lithuanian matikkas (“mattock”), Sanskrit मत्य (matyà, “harrow, roller, club”). More at mason.