What is an axe? This word, denoting a heavy metal tool on a wooden handle, is probably known to everyone. In the villages, axes are used for chopping firewood, rough processing of logs intended for the construction of housing or utility rooms. Axes are necessary for hunters, tourists, geologists, lumberjacks, carpenters and joiners.
An ax is a tool not only for representatives of professions whose work is related to wood processing. For example, meat-packing workers use axes to butcher the carcasses of slaughtered farm animals. City dwellers are familiar with small kitchen axes, which are convenient for cutting poultry meat, pork or lamb ribs into pieces.
Entertaining etymology
Where did the word "axe" come from in Russian? According to linguists, this noun is derived from the verb "tap" (or "tepat"), which once had the meaning "cut", "hit", "cut". Over time, the soft vowel sound in the first syllable changed to "o" and an instrument for "pulling"turned into an "axe".
This word can also be found in Polish and Romanian. An interesting fact: modern researchers of the customs of the aborigines of Papua New Guinea found that the Papuans pronounce the name of any stabbing and chopping tool as “shapor”. It turned out that the Russian word appeared in the vocabulary of local residents thanks to N. N. Miklukho-Maclay.
Synonyms and antonyms
Interestingly, in many Slavic languages "axe" is called an axe. In Ukrainian, the word sounds like “sokira”, in Belarusian - “syaker”, in Slovak - sekira, in Slovenian - sekera.
From history books and works of art devoted to medieval life, we know that the ax is an ax with a wide semicircular blade, used as a melee weapon in combat. A sharply sharpened and heavy ax was able to cut through metal armor, thereby inflicting mortal injury on an enemy warrior.
Besides "ax", there are other synonyms, for example: cleaver, potes, b alta, reed. But antonyms for the word "axe" are much more difficult to pick up. But still, let's try to cope with this task. By and large, an ax is not so much a complete tool as its metal part. A wooden handle is the opposite of a full-fledged tool. Thus, with some stretch, the antonym to the “axe” can be called the “axe”, that is, the shaft, the handle on which the blade is mounted, forged or cast from durable metal.
Parse words by composition
Despitethe fact that this noun is formed from the verb “tip (tep)”, in modern Russian it is a completely independent common noun of the masculine gender, 2nd declension. When changing by cases, endings are added to the root "axe":
- singular "-a", "-y", "-om", "-e";
- plural "-s", "-ov", "-am", "-ami", "-ah".
As can be seen from this tablet, it is not at all difficult to parse the word "axe" in composition and decline it in cases.
Stable expressions
In our speech, there are many phraseological units in which this word is firmly established. Here are some examples.
When the room is too stuffy or too smoky, they say: "Though hang an ax." This means that the air in the room is so dense that a heavy object will be held by a canopy without additional support.
Looking at a person who cannot swim, people grin: “Well, just like an ax!” The comparison is quite apt, since a heavy piece of iron will instantly sink if you throw it into a vessel of water, a river or a lake.
About any product that has an unaesthetic appearance, they say: "Clumsy work!" It is believed that with this tool only rough processing of wood can be performed, for example, to remove the bark from logs. Although in the old days, real masterpieces of wooden architecture, household utensils, furniture and even children's toys came out from under the ax of joiners and carpenters. The tool replaced the masters and the hammer, andplaner, and chisel, and chisel.
Echoes of folk epics
The definition and meaning of the word "axe" is not always peaceful. Since ancient times, among many peoples, this item was a military weapon. We have already mentioned the medieval axes used both in Russia and in other countries of Europe and Asia.
The North American Indians had their own kind of ax - this is the tomahawk. Thanks to the customs adopted in some Indian tribes, a common cultural symbol has appeared that sounds like "bury the hatchet." In fact, tomahawks were not hidden in the ground during truces with enemies, but this expression contained the idea that the period of hostilities was over.
The Zulus (one of the warlike peoples of South Africa) very strictly followed the moral principles and norms of the family. But after the battle with the enemy tribes, the warriors were allowed to have a relationship with any of the girls they liked without a preliminary wedding ceremony. The custom, called "to wipe the ax", meant that in this way a man removes the sin of bloodshed from himself.
Russian folklore
Another well-known expression is "porridge from an axe". It means that some dish is prepared from improvised ingredients. In other words, from those products that could be found in the house at one time or another. Phraseologism was born thanks to a Russian folk tale about a resourceful soldier and a greedy mistress. Settling down in one of the village houses, the warrior hoped not only for an overnight stay, but also for a delicious dinner.
However, the unfriendly woman was in no hurry to feed the guest. Then the soldier asked permission to weld his axe. Tasting boiling water from a cast-iron in which an ax lay, the guest begged from the hostess either a pinch of s alt, or a handful of cereals, or a piece of butter, in order, according to him, to improve the taste of the dish. And the woman herself was interested in what could come out of an ordinary ax, albeit boiled. Here she was, at the request of the cunning one, and gave out the necessary products. As a result, the porridge was a success. The soldier himself ate plenty, and treated the hostess.
A bit of ax history
The most ancient prototype of this tool can be considered an acute-angled piece of stone, which was used as a tool by primitive man. In the future, people learned to attach a wooden handle to a stone blade, connecting the parts of the ax to each other with animal veins or leather ribbons. Scientists suggest that such a tool appeared about 30 thousand years ago.
With the onset of the Copper Age, axes began to be cast from soft metal. Over time, the appearance and functionality of this item, which is necessary both in civilian life and in war conditions, has improved. The curved ax handle, as we see it today, made it possible to reduce recoil upon impact, protecting a person’s hand from damage. Learning how to use this tool correctly is probably still more difficult than describing it and explaining the word. An ax in the hands of a skilled person can turn into both a creative and a destructive tool.
Long time axeswere made in a handicraft way by masters of blacksmithing. The industrial production of this tool began in the first half of the 19th century in the United States, when there was a need for massive deforestation in order to free up territories for housing and agricultural land.
