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Poleax

[pohl-aks] /ˈpoʊlˌæks/

noun, plural poleaxes
[pohl-ak-siz] /ˈpoʊlˌæk sɪz/ (Show IPA)
1.
a medieval shafted weapon with blade combining ax, hammer, and apical spike, used for fighting on foot.
2.
an ax, usually with a hammer opposite the cutting edge, used in stunning and slaughtering animals.
3.
an ax with both a blade and a hook, formerly used in naval warfare to assist sailors in boarding vessels.
verb (used with object), poleaxed, poleaxing.
4.
to strike down or kill with or as if with a poleax.
n.

kind of axe used as a weapon or by butchers, c.1300, pollax, from pol “head” (see poll (n.)) + ax (n.). From notion of beheading or head-splitting, or perhaps from the shape of the ax. Spelling altered 17c. by confusion with pole (n.1)).

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