pollaxe
Sign in to savethumb|15th-century Republic of Venice|Venetian poleaxe at the [[Metropolitan Museum of Art]] The poleaxe (also poleax, pollaxe and other similar spellings) is a European polearm that was used by medieval infantry. Poleaxes differ from halberds because the blade is vertical, not diagonal, and poleaxes are generally shorter than halberds.
Article
7 sectionsContents
- Etymology
- The construction of the poleaxe
- Fighting with poleaxe
- Use in language
- See also
- References
- External links
thumb|15th-century Republic of Venice|Venetian poleaxe at the [[Metropolitan Museum of Art]] The poleaxe (also poleax, pollaxe and other similar spellings) is a European polearm that was used by medieval infantry. Poleaxes differ from halberds because the blade is vertical, not diagonal, and poleaxes are generally shorter than halberds.
== Etymology == Most etymological authorities consider the poll- prefix historically unrelated to "pole", instead meaning "head". However, some etymologists, including Eric Partridge, support this explanation.