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mallet

 - 4 dictionary results

mal⋅let

[mal-it]
–noun
1. a hammerlike tool with a head commonly of wood but occasionally of rawhide, plastic, etc., used for driving any tool with a wooden handle, as a chisel, or for striking a surface.
2. the wooden implement used to strike the balls in croquet.
3. Polo. the long-handled stick, or club, used to drive the ball.

Origin:
1375–1425; late ME maillet < MF, equiv. to mail maul + -et -et
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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mal·let   (māl'ĭt)   
n.  
    1. A short-handled hammer, usually with a cylindrical head of wood, used chiefly to drive a chisel or wedge.

    2. A tool with a large head, used to strike a surface without damaging it.

  1. Sports A long-handled implement used to strike a ball, as in croquet and polo.

  2. Music A light hammer with a rounded head for striking a percussion instrument.


[Middle English, from Old French maillet, diminutive of mail, maul; see maul.]
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Slang Dictionary
mallet

  1. n.
    a police officer. : Sam was struck by a mallet this noon.
Dictionary of American Slang and Colloquial Expressions by Richard A. Spears.Fourth Edition.
Copyright 2007. Published by McGraw Hill.
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Word Origin & History

mallet 
1392, from O.Fr. maillet "small wooden hammer," dim. of mail, from L. malleus "hammer," from PIE *mele- "to grind, crush" (cf. L. molere "to grind," Gk. mylos "millstone," O.E. melu "meal," O.C.S. mlatu, Rus. molotu "hammer").
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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