machete
noun
- stringed musical instrument
Wiktionary
Pronunciation: /məˈʃɛ.ti/ / /məˈt͡ʃɛ.ti/
noun
Etymology: From Spanish machete, diminutive of macho (“sledgehammer”), from Latin mattea, possibly from mactare (“slaughter in sacrifice”); cognate with Old French machier, French massue, English mace.
- A sword-like tool used for cutting large plants with a chopping motion, or used as a weapon.
“Near-synonyms: (all sometimes or regionally synonymous) bolo, golok, panga, parang, sundang”
“It breaks loose one rope at a time, haphazardly, tossing the Filipinos up into the air. A boy with a machete cuts the one remaining line, which pops up and lashes him across the face.”
- A small stringed instrument from Madeira, Portugal, having a double bulged body, traditionally of wood, with a small rib and four metallic strings, sometimes attached by wooden pegs.
verb
Etymology: From Spanish machete, diminutive of macho (“sledgehammer”), from Latin mattea, possibly from mactare (“slaughter in sacrifice”); cognate with Old French machier, French massue, English mace.
- To cut or chop with a machete.
“After some hours of intense work, we had macheted a path through the jungle to the bank of the river.”