battle axe

• battleaxe, battle-ax, battleax

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battle axe (plural battle axes)

A battleaxe block or battleaxe lot.

1. An ancient military weapon, an axe designed for combat.
   • 1786, Francis Grose, A Treatise on Ancient Armour and Weapons, page x:

     Another battle-ax, in the same collection.

2. (heraldry) This weapon borne on arms as a mark of prowess.
3. (informal) A domineering, antagonistic woman.
4. (informal) An electric guitar.
   • 2013, Kiley Armstrong, “"108 Rock Star Guitars" reveals battle-ax beauty”, in Associated Press‎:

     The instruments (one's named Baby) evoke tender talk from macho musicians. But some of these battle-ax beauties have seen more action than a roller derby queen: They bear the gashes and sweat stains to prove it.

5. (Australia, usually spelt "battleaxe") An allotment of land at the rear of another property, with a long, narrow strip of land connecting it to the roadway.

Formerly a term of mild opprobrium, "battle-ax" or "old battle-ax" is now sometimes a term of approval or self-identification for an assertive woman.

• (antagonistic woman): See Thesaurus:shrew

• polearm
• twibill

• The Manual of Heraldry, Fifth Edition, by Anonymous, London, 1862, online at

• battle axe on Wikipedia.Wikipedia