Definitions and meaning of ax
ax
English
Pronunciation
- enPR: ăks, IPA(key): /æks/
- Rhymes: -æks
Etymology 1
Noun
ax (plural axes)
- (American spelling) Alternative form of axe.
Derived terms
Verb
ax (third-person singular simple present axes, present participle axing, simple past and past participle axed)
- (American spelling) Alternative form of axe.
Etymology 2
From Middle English axen, aksen, axien, from Old English ācsian and āxian, showing metathesis from āscian. Ax/aks was common in literary works until about 1600.
Verb
ax (third-person singular simple present axes, present participle axing, simple past and past participle axed)
- (now nonstandard or dialectical, especially African-American Vernacular, MLE and Bermuda) Alternative form of ask.
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- 2006 Sept. 17, David Mills, "Soft Eyes", The Wire, 00:19:01:
- Wise: Your boy left here a while ago
Johnson: I ain' lookin' for him. He at his granmother's. I wanted to ax you somethin'.
Usage notes
- This and related forms of ask have been used since Old English and were long employed in literature and prestige dialects. Chaucer used ask, ax, and axe interchangeably. They remain in use in some rural areas of Britain and Appalachia but are now regarded as nonstandard and are primarily associated with AAVE dialects in the US and MLE or West Country dialects in the UK, as well as being in some Irish English dialects, and sometimes in New Zealand, especially among Maori English speakers.
References
- McWhorter, John. "The 'Ax' versus 'Ask' Question", LA Times, 19 Jan. 2014.
Eastern Huasteca Nahuatl
Adverb
ax
- not
Icelandic
Etymology
From Old Norse ax.
Pronunciation
Noun
ax n (genitive singular ax, nominative plural öx)
- ear (of corn)
Declension
Jamaican Creole
Verb
ax
- alternative spelling of aks
Middle English
Etymology 1
From Old English æx, æcs, from Proto-West Germanic *akusi.
Alternative forms
- axe, ex, exe
- (early) æxæ, æxe
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /aks/
- Rhymes: -aks
Noun
ax (plural axes)
- An axe (tool)
- An axe (weapon)
Descendants
- English: axe, ax
- Scots: aix
References
- “ax(e, n.(1).”, in MED Online, Ann Arbor, Mich.: University of Michigan, 2007, retrieved 2018-04-24.
Etymology 2
From Old English eax, from Proto-Germanic *ahsu.
Alternative forms
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /aks/
- Rhymes: -aks
Noun
ax (plural axes)
- (rare) An axle, axletree, pole
Derived terms
References
- “ax(e, n.(2).”, in MED Online, Ann Arbor, Mich.: University of Michigan, 2007, retrieved 2018-04-24.
Northern Kurdish
Etymology
Akin to Persian خاک (xâk, “earth, soil, dust”). From Proto-Iranian *HáHhah, from Proto-Indo-European *h₂eHs- (“to be dry”).
Pronunciation
Noun
ax f (Arabic spelling ئاخ)
- dirt, ground, soil, earth
- Synonyms: erd, xwelî
- dust
- Synonym: xubar
- matter
Declension
Derived terms
References
- Chyet, Michael L. (2003) “ax”, in Kurdish–English Dictionary[3], with selected etymologies by Martin Schwartz, New Haven and London: Yale University Press, page 14
Old French
Contraction
ax
- Contraction of a + les (to the)
Old Norse
Etymology
From Proto-Germanic *ahsą, from *ahaz (“ear (of grain)”).
Noun
ax n (genitive ax, plural ǫx)
- ear (of corn)
Declension
Descendants
Further reading
Zoëga, Geir T. (1910) “ax”, in A Concise Dictionary of Old Icelandic, Oxford: Clarendon Press; also available at the Internet Archive
Romanian
Etymology
Borrowed from French axe, from Latin axis. Doublet of axă and osie.
Noun
ax n (plural axe)
- axle
- axis
Declension
Swedish
Etymology
From Old Norse ax.
Noun
ax n
- an ear (fruiting body of a grain plant)
Declension
Verb
ax (present ax, preterite ax, supine ax, imperative ax)
- (slang) alternative form of axa
References
- ax in Svensk ordbok (SO)
- ax in Svenska Akademiens ordlista (SAOL)
- ax in Svenska Akademiens ordbok (SAOB)
- Slangopedia
Source: wiktionary.org