English

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An ax

Pronunciation

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Etymology 1

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Noun

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ax (plural axes)

  1. (American spelling) Alternative form of axe
Derived terms
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Verb

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ax (third-person singular simple present axes, present participle axing, simple past and past participle axed)

  1. (American spelling) Alternative form of axe

Etymology 2

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From Middle English axen, aksen, axien, from Old English ācsian and āxian, showing metathesis from āscian. Ax/aks was common in literary works until about 1600.

Verb

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ax (third-person singular simple present axes, present participle axing, simple past and past participle axed)

  1. (now nonstandard or dialectical, especially African-American Vernacular, MLE and Bermuda) Alternative form of ask
Usage notes
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  • This and related forms of ask have been used since Old English and were long employed in literature and prestige dialects. Chaucer used ask, ax, and axe interchangeably. They remain in use in some rural areas of Britain and Appalachia but are now regarded as nonstandard and are primarily associated with AAVE dialects in the US and MLE or West Country dialects in the UK, as well as being in some Irish English dialects, and sometimes in New Zealand, especially among Maori English speakers.

References

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Eastern Huasteca Nahuatl

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Adverb

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ax

  1. not

Icelandic

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Etymology

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From Old Norse ax.

Pronunciation

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Noun

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ax n (genitive singular ax, nominative plural öx)

  1. ear (of corn)

Declension

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Declension of ax (neuter)
singular plural
indefinite definite indefinite definite
nominative ax axið öx öxin
accusative ax axið öx öxin
dative axi axinu öxum öxunum
genitive ax axins axa axanna

Jamaican Creole

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Verb

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ax

  1. Alternative spelling of aks.
    • 2006, Amina Blackwood-Meeks, “Aiming at your dreams”, in The Jamaica Gleaner[2] (in Jamaican Creole):
      “Well she sey one a de man dem come right up to har car window an show har fe him sign wid him finga, order har outa de plaza like sey it was him personal yaad an ax har if she tink sey chu hooman a go tun Prime Minista she can jus come park which part she have a mind. []
      So she said one of the men walked right up to her car window and pointed at his sign with his finger and ordered her to leave the plaza as if it were his own home. He asked her if she thought that the fact that a woman was going to become Prime Minister that she could just park anywhere she wanted to. []

Middle English

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Etymology 1

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From Old English æx, æcs, from Proto-West Germanic *akusi.

Alternative forms

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Pronunciation

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Noun

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ax (plural axes)

  1. An axe (tool)
  2. An axe (weapon)
Descendants
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  • English: axe, ax
  • Scots: aix
References
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Etymology 2

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From Old English eax, from Proto-Germanic *ahsu.

Alternative forms

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Pronunciation

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Noun

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ax (plural axes)

  1. (rare) An axle, axletree, pole
Derived terms
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References
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Northern Kurdish

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Etymology

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Akin to Persian خاک (xâk, earth, soil, dust). From Proto-Iranian *HáHhah, from Proto-Indo-European *h₂eHs- (to be dry).

Pronunciation

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Noun

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ax f (Arabic spelling ئاخ)

  1. dirt, ground, soil, earth
    Synonyms: erd, xwelî
  2. dust
    Synonym: xubar
  3. matter

Declension

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Declension of ax
definite feminine gender
case singular plural
nominative ax ax
construct axa axên
oblique axê axan
demonstrative oblique axê wan axan
vocative axê axino
indefinite feminine gender
case singular plural
nominative axek axin
construct axeke axine
oblique axekê axinan

Derived terms

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References

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  • Chyet, Michael L. (2003) “ax”, in Kurdish–English Dictionary[3], with selected etymologies by Martin Schwartz, New Haven and London: Yale University Press, page 14

Old French

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Contraction

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ax

  1. Contraction of a + les (to the)

Old Norse

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Etymology

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From Proto-Germanic *ahsą, from *ahaz (ear (of grain)).

Noun

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ax n (genitive ax, plural ǫx)

  1. ear (of corn)

Declension

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Declension of ax (strong a-stem)
neuter singular plural
indefinite definite indefinite definite
nominative ax axit ǫx ǫxin
accusative ax axit ǫx ǫxin
dative axi axinu ǫxum ǫxunum
genitive ax axins axa axanna

Descendants

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  • Icelandic: ax
  • Norwegian Nynorsk: aks
  • Norwegian Bokmål: aks
  • Old Swedish: ax
    • Swedish: ax
  • Danish: aks

Further reading

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Zoëga, Geir T. (1910) “ax”, in A Concise Dictionary of Old Icelandic, Oxford: Clarendon Press; also available at the Internet Archive

Romanian

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Etymology

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Borrowed from French axe, from Latin axis. Doublet of axă and osie.

Noun

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ax n (plural axe)

  1. axle
  2. axis

Declension

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Declension of ax
singular plural
indefinite definite indefinite definite
nominative-accusative ax axul axe axele
genitive-dative ax axului axe axelor
vocative axule axelor

Swedish

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Etymology

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From Old Norse ax.

Noun

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ax n

  1. an ear (fruiting body of a grain plant)

Declension

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Declension of ax
nominative genitive
singular indefinite ax ax
definite axet axets
plural indefinite ax ax
definite axen axens

Verb

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ax (present ax, preterite ax, supine ax, imperative ax)

  1. (slang) Alternative form of axa

References

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