helve
/hɛlv/ noun, verb
Forms helves helving helved
- noun The handle or haft of a tool or weapon.
- noun A forge hammer lifted by a cam acting on the helve between the fulcrum and the head.
- verb (transitive) To furnish (an axe, etc.) with a helve.
Synonyms
Etymology
From Middle English helfe, helve; from Old English hielfe, from Proto-Germanic *halbiją. Probably cognate to English half, although Etymonline claims relation from halter and helm.
Webster’s 1913
- noun The handle of an ax, hatchet, or adze.
- noun (a) The lever at the end of which is the hammer head, in a forge hammer.
- verb To furnish with a helve, as an ax.
Etymology [OE. helve, helfe, AS. hielf, helf, hylf, cf. OHG. halb; and also E. halter, helm of a rudder.]
Sources: Wiktionary · WordNet 3.0 · Webster’s 1913 — from the Wiktionary entry “helve”, CC BY-SA 4.0. Details