Definitions
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.
- noun A handle of a tool, such as an ax, chisel, or hammer.
from The Century Dictionary.
- noun The handle of an ax, adz, or hatchet.
- noun The shank of a forge-hammer or trip-hammer: also used for the whole hammer.
- To furnish with a helve or handle, as an ax.
from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.
- transitive verb To furnish with a helve, as an ax.
- noun The handle of an ax, hatchet, or adze.
- noun The lever at the end of which is the hammer head, in a forge hammer.
- noun A forge hammer which is lifted by a cam acting on the helve between the fulcrum and the head.
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.
- noun The
handle orhaft of atool orweapon . - verb transitive To furnish (an axe, etc.) with a helve.
from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.
- noun the handle of a weapon or tool
Etymologies
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License
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Examples
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In the helve, which is pretty thick, is made a hole into which the stone is fixed.
A General History and Collection of Voyages and Travels — Volume 14 Robert Kerr 1784
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See that the handle or "helve" is perfectly straight and true in line with the head and the edge.
Young Knights of the Empire : Their Code, and Further Scout Yarns Robert Stephenson Smyth Baden-Powell Baden-Powell of Gilwell 1899
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Out of curiosity, I lay down on the ice and looked through the hole, until I saw the axe a little on one side, standing on its head, with its helve erect and gently swaying to and fro with the pulse of the pond; and there it might have stood erect and swaying till in the course of time the handle rotted off, if I had not disturbed it.
Walden 2004
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His hands were playing with a pickaxe helve, as if he longed to have me under it.
Lorna Doone Richard Doddridge 2004
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Presently two great miracles were seen: up springs the hatchet from the bottom of the water, and fixes itself to its old acquaintance the helve.
Five books of the lives, heroic deeds and sayings of Gargantua and his son Pantagruel 2002
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The helve and quillons (she knew these terms courtesy of Bruce, the show's swordmaster, who was a real bug on all things edged and pointy) were of the same color metal as the blade, though glossier, and very fancy in a curved and scrolled fashion.
The Warslayer Edghill, Rosemary 2002
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Presently two great miracles were seen: up springs the hatchet from the bottom of the water, and fixes itself to its old acquaintance the helve.
Five books of the lives, heroic deeds and sayings of Gargantua and his son Pantagruel 2002
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Carpalin, this helve and this hatchet are well matched.
Five books of the lives, heroic deeds and sayings of Gargantua and his son Pantagruel 2002
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Carpalin, this helve and this hatchet are well matched.
Five books of the lives, heroic deeds and sayings of Gargantua and his son Pantagruel 2002
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"We told them in 1993 helve the reforms but they would not listen to us."
sionnach commented on the word helve
Or a Cockney version of Legolas
April 9, 2008
whichbe commented on the word helve
The Keebler Helves?
August 13, 2008
qms commented on the word helve
The cave-salesman pitched how to delve
With flint that surmounted a helve:
"Save knuckles and nails
And move dirt in bales,
Why, one man can work as though twelve!"
April 12, 2017