hatchet

Meanings

Plural: hatchets

Noun

weapon consisting of a fighting ax; used by North American Indians
a small ax with a short handle used with one hand (usually to chop wood)
A small, light axe with a short handle; a tomahawk.
Belligerence, animosity; harsh criticism.

Verb

To cut with a hatchet.

Origin / Etymology

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.

Synonyms

tomahawk

Scrabble Score: 15

hatchet is a valid Scrabble (US) TWL word
hatchet is a valid Scrabble Word in Merriam-Webster MW Dictionary
hatchet is a valid Scrabble Word in International Collins CSW Dictionary

Words With Friends Score: 14

hatchet is a valid Words With Friends word