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Antonyms for axe


Grammar : Noun, verb
Spell : aks
Phonetic Transcription : æks



Definition of axe

Origin :
  • Old English æces (Northumbrian acas) "axe, pickaxe, hatchet," later æx, from Proto-Germanic *akusjo (cf. Old Saxon accus, Old Norse ex, Old Frisian axe, German Axt, Gothic aqizi), from PIE *agw(e)si- (cf. Greek axine, Latin ascia).
  • The spelling ax is better on every ground, of etymology, phonology, and analogy, than axe, which became prevalent during the 19th century; but it is now disused in Britain. [OED]The spelling ax, though "better on every ground, of etymology, phonology, & analogy" (OED), is so strange to 20th-c. eyes that it suggests pedantry & is unlikely to be restored. [Fowler]
  • Meaning "musical instrument" is 1955, originally jazz slang for the saxophone; rock slang for "guitar" dates to 1967. The axe in figurative sense of cutting of anything (expenses, workers, etc.), especially as a cost-saving measure, is from 1922, probably from the notion of the headman's literal axe (itself attested from mid-15c.). To have an axe to grind is from an 1815 essay by U.S. editor and politician Charles Miner (1780-1865) in which a man flatters a boy and gets him to do the chore of axe-grinding for him, then leaves without offering thanks or recompense. Misattributed to Benjamin Franklin in Weekley, OED print edition, and many other sources.
  • As in ax/axe : noun large cutting tool
  • As in weapon : noun arm, armament
  • As in chopper : noun something that chops
  • As in cleaver : noun cutting instrument
  • As in ax/axe : verb cut with large blade
  • As in ax/axe : verb dismiss from service
  • As in hew : verb cut
  • As in chop : verb cut up with tool
  • As in destroy : verb demolish, devastate
Example sentences :
  • A man cutting brush in a vacant lot leaned on his axe to look after us.
  • Extract from : « The Bacillus of Beauty » by Harriet Stark
  • I will cause the axe in the act of sinking to do away his sin.
  • Extract from : « The Babylonian Legends of the Creation » by British Museum
  • She cut it through, and the axe rang upon the stone wall behind it.
  • Extract from : « Her Father's Daughter » by Gene Stratton-Porter
  • She squeezed past Katy, secured the axe and hung it round her own neck.
  • Extract from : « Her Father's Daughter » by Gene Stratton-Porter
  • She looked at Katy reassuringly, then she took off the axe and handed it to her.
  • Extract from : « Her Father's Daughter » by Gene Stratton-Porter
  • The ankle was small and curved like an axe handle and looked as tough.
  • Extract from : « The Underdog » by F. Hopkinson Smith
  • At length a wood-boat gave us an axe, and with this we killed him.
  • Extract from : « Ned Myers » by James Fenimore Cooper
  • Junipers were creeping stealthily in, as if expecting the axe.
  • Extract from : « The Bay State Monthly, Vol. 1, Issue 1. » by Various
  • These vermin are more to be feared than hangman's cord or headsman's axe.'
  • Extract from : « Micah Clarke » by Arthur Conan Doyle
  • Once, he roused with a start and hastily got the axe out from underneath the lashings.
  • Extract from : « White Fang » by Jack London

Synonyms for axe

Based on : Thesaurus.com - Gutenberg.org - Dictionary.com - Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019