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hatchet

[hach-it] Origin

hatch·et

[hach-it]
noun
1.
a small, short-handled ax having the end of the head opposite the blade in the form of a hammer, made to be used with one hand.
2.
a tomahawk.
verb (used with object)
4.
to cut, destroy, kill, etc., with a hatchet.
5.
to abridge, delete, excise, etc.: The network censor may hatchet 30 minutes from the script.

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Hatchet is one of our favorite verbs.
So is peculate. Does it mean:
to run away hurriedly; flee.
to steal or take dishonestly (money, esp. public funds, or property entrusted to one's care); embezzle.
6.
bury the hatchet, to become reconciled or reunited; make peace.
7.
take up the hatchet, to begin or resume hostilities; prepare for or go to war: The natives are taking up the hatchet against the enemy.

Origin:
1300–50; 1670–80, Americanism for def. 6; Middle English hachet < Middle French hachette, diminutive (see -et) of hache ax < Frankish *hapja kind of knife; akin to Greek kóptein to cut (compare comma, syncope)

hatch·et·like, adjective
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2012.
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World English Dictionary
hatchet (ˈhætʃɪt)
 
n
1.  a short axe used for chopping wood, etc
2.  a tomahawk
3.  (modifier) of narrow dimensions and sharp features: a hatchet face
4.  bury the hatchet to cease hostilities and become reconciled
 
[C14: from Old French hachette, from hache axe, of Germanic origin; compare Old High German happa knife]
 
'hatchet-like
 
adj

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
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Etymonline
Word Origin & History

hatchet
mid-12c., from O.Fr. hachette, dim. of hache "axe," possibly from Frank. *happja (cf. O.H.G. happa "sickle, scythe"), from P.Gmc. *khæbijo, from PIE base *(s)qep- "to cut" (cf. Gk. kopis "knife," Lith. kaplys "hatchet"). Phrase bury the hatchet (1794) is from Native American peacemaking custom.
EXPAND
Hatchet-man was originally California slang for "hired Chinese assassin" (1880), later extended figuratively to journalists who attacked the reputation of a public figure (1944).
COLLAPSE
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
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American Heritage
Idioms & Phrases

hatchet

In addition to the idioms beginning with hatchet, also see bury the hatchet.

The American Heritage® Dictionary of Idioms by Christine Ammer.
Copyright © 1997. Published by Houghton Mifflin.
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