English
hatchet
Hatchet comes from Old French hache ‘axe’, and goes back to Proto-Indo-European *kop- ‘to strike, to beat’.
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*kop-‘to strike, to beat’reconstructed
- Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*hapjǭreconstructed
- Frankishc. 250–700*happjāreconstructed
- Vulgar Latinc. 100–700 CE*happia‘axe, hatchet’reconstructed
- Old Frenchc. 842–1400hache‘axe’
- Old French, derivedc. 842–1400hachetediminutive of hache
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500hachet‘a hatchet’
- Englishearliest quotation 1843hatchet
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed
Lineage
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*kop-‘to strike, to beat’reconstructed
- Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*hapjǭreconstructed
- Frankishc. 250–700*happjāreconstructed
- Vulgar Latinc. 100–700 CE*happia‘axe, hatchet’reconstructed
- Old Frenchc. 842–1400hache‘axe’
- Old French, derivedc. 842–1400hachetediminutive of hache
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500hachet‘a hatchet’
- Englishearliest quotation 1843hatchet
Earliest quotation: 1843, James Fenimore Cooper, Wyandotté: “It must be admitted, Nick, you are a very…”
The story
Mostly displaced native Old English handæx, whence Modern English hand axe.
Linked words
through Old French hache ‘axe’
Today it means
noun A small, light axe with a short handle; a tomahawk.
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *kop- / hatchet