Where does “axe-murder” come from?
axe-murder (English) comes from English axe, from Middle English ex, from Old English æx, from Old English æces, from Proto-West Germanic akusi, from Proto-Germanic akwisī, from Proto-Indo-European h₂egʷs-ih₂-, from Proto-Indo-European h₂eḱ- — sharp.
axe-murder (English): To murder with an axe
Definitions
- To murder with an axe
Ancestry of “axe-murder”, step by step
axe-murder traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.
via English axe
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | English | axe | A tool for felling trees or chopping wood etc.... |
| 2 | Middle English | ex | Alternative form of ax |
| 3 | Old English | æx | an axe, used as a weapon or cutting-tool |
| 4 | Old English | æces | — |
| 5 | Proto-West Germanic | akusi | axe |
| 6 | Proto-Germanic | akwisī | axe |
| 7 | Proto-Indo-European | h₂egʷs-ih₂- | axe |
| 8 | Proto-Indo-European | h₂eḱ- | sharp |
via English murder
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | English | murder | The crime of deliberately killing another person... |
| 2 | Middle English | murder | — |
| 3 | Middle English | murthre | murder |
| 4 | Old English | morþor | murder; great sin or crime, enormity |
| 5 | Proto-Germanic | murþrą | murder |
| 6 | Proto-Indo-European | mrtro- | murder, death; killing |
| 7 | Proto-Indo-European | mer- | to die; to disappear; sea, lake, wetland |