pommel
UK /ˈpɒ.məl/ · US /ˈpɑ.məl/ noun, verb
Forms pommels pommeling pommelling pommeled pommelled pummel
- noun The upper front brow of a saddle.
- noun Either of the rounded handles on a pommel horse.
- noun The knob on the hilt of an edged weapon such as a sword or dagger.
- noun A knob forming the finial of a turret or pavilion.
- noun (sports, obsolete) The bat used in the game of knurr and spell or trap ball.
- verb (transitive) To pound or beat.
Synonyms
Etymology
From Middle English pomel, from Old French pomel and Medieval Latin pomellum, pumellum, presumedly via Vulgar Latin *pomellum (“ball, knob”), the diminutive of Late Latin pōmum (“apple”). Compare French pommeau, Spanish pomo, and Swedish pumla.
Webster’s 1913
- noun A knob or ball; an object resembling a ball in form; as: (a) The knob on the hilt of a sword. Macaulay.
- verb To beat soundly, as with the pommel of a sword, or with something knoblike; hence, to beat with the fists. [Written also pummel.]
Etymology [OE. pomel, OF. pomel, F. pommeau, LL. pomellus, fr. L. pomum fruit, LL. also, an apple. See Pome.]
Sources: Wiktionary · WordNet 3.0 · Webster’s 1913 — from the Wiktionary entry “pommel”, CC BY-SA 4.0. Details