hatchetn.
/ˈhatʃᵻt/, U.S. /ˈhætʃət/ A small or light axe with a short handle, designed to be used with one hand.Recorded earliest in to hang up one's hatchet at Phrases 1a.
ΘΚΠ
society > occupation and work > equipment > cutting tool > axe > [noun] > small
adzeeOE
hatcheta1350
chip axe1371
chipping axec1425
hack-chip1440
hatcha1533
plane-axe1611
planing axe1611
hand-axe1790
hack iron1831
tommy axe1848
tommy1873
Pulaski1924
society > armed hostility > military equipment > weapon > sharp weapon > axe > [noun] > hatchet
hatcheta1350
tomahawk1803
tommy axe1837
tommy1873
tom-axe1988
a1350 ( in R. H. Robbins Hist. Poems 14th & 15th Cent. (1959) 21 Hang vp þyn hachet ant þi knyf, whil him lasteþ þe lyf wiþ þe longe shonkes.
c1400 (c1378) W. Langland Piers Plowman (Laud 581) (1869) B. iii. l. 304 Alle þat bereþ..Axe [other] hachet [C text c1400 Huntington HM 137 acchett].
?a1425 Mandeville's Trav. (Egerton) (1889) 94 Men hewez with a hacchet aboute þe fote of þe tree.
1487 (a1380) J. Barbour Bruce (St. John's Cambr.) x. 174 A ȝheman..suld dryf the vayn, and ber Ane hachit [1489 Adv. hachat], that war scharp to scher, Vndir his belt.
a1500 in T. Wright & R. P. Wülcker Anglo-Saxon & Old Eng. Vocab. (1884) I. 628 Securis, ascia, axe, hachet.
1577 B. Googe tr. C. Heresbach Foure Bks. Husbandry i. f. 11v Axes, Hatchettes, and Sithes, of all sortes.
1623 in G. Ornsby Select. from Househ. Bks. Naworth Castle (1878) 207 For 12 spads, 6 loks, 2 hatchits, on rispe.
1677 W. Hubbard Narr. Troubles with Indians New-Eng. ii. 20 The Indians..knocked the poor Maid down with their Hatchets, and gave her many other wounds.
1702 C. Mather Magnalia Christi vii. App. 70/1 His Hatchet in his Hand, ready to bestow a Mercy-stroak of Death upon her.
1786 J. Ledyard Let. 16 Aug. in Journey through Russia (1966) 109 I bought two great Dogs, an Indian pipe and a hatchet.
1814 W. Scott Waverley I. xvi. 238 Two wild Highlanders..one of whom had upon his shoulder a hatchet at the end of a pole.
1851 D. Wilson Archæol. & Prehistoric Ann. Scotl. i. vi. 129 Hatchets, or wedges, are among the most abundant of all the relics of the Stone Period.
1908 E. T. Seton Two Little Sav. iii. viii. 321 Caleb worked on the hollow log... With the hatchet he cleared out all the..splinters inside.
1955 P. Sillitoe Cloak without Dagger xiv. 128 Both gangs used hatchets, swords, and sharpened bicycle chains.
2010 Woodcarving Jan. 35/3 I roughly squared off the wood using a carver's hatchet.
Phrases
P1.
a. to hang up one's hatchet: to stop working; to take a rest; (in later use esp.) to retire. Cf. to hang up 2 at hang v. Phrasal verbs.
ΘΚΠ
the world > action or operation > ceasing > cease activity [verb (intransitive)] > desist from effort or exertion
restOE
to hang up one's hatcheta1350
to call it a night1912
that'll be the day1916
the world > action or operation > ceasing > temporary cessation of activity or operation > temporarily cease activity or operation [verb (intransitive)] > rest
restOE
to hang up one's hatcheta1350
to latch one's ease, one's leave1377
sabbatize1382
roc1460
repose1494
repause1526
respire1566
respite1587
requiesce1653
to rest (also lie) on one's oars1726
to lay off1841
to rest up1858
spell1880
to lie off1891
a1350 ( in R. H. Robbins Hist. Poems 14th & 15th Cent. (1959) 21 Hang vp þyn hachet ant þi knyf, whil him lasteþ þe lyf wiþ þe longe shonkes.
c1422 T. Hoccleve Dialogus (Durh.) l. 736 in Minor Poems (1970) i. 136 Hange vp his hachet & sette him adoun.
c1450 in F. J. Furnivall Hymns to Virgin & Christ (1867) 69 (MED) Hange up þin hachet & take þi reste.
a1550 in R. Dyboski Songs, Carols & Other Misc. Poems (1908) 129 Whan thow hast well don, hange wp thi hatchet.
1659 J. Howell Prov. Eng. Toung 6/2 in Παροιμιογραϕια I have hang'd up my hatchet and scap'd my self.
1975 Sunday Times (Johannesburg) 10 Aug. 7 I need a son to carry on the business when I hang up my hatchet.
2004 W. Safire in Associated Press Online (Nexis) 15 Nov. After more than three decades of opinionated reporting on the world's first and foremost political battle page, it's time to hang up my hatchet.
b. to sling (also fling, throw) the hatchet: to exaggerate; to fabricate, invent. Cf. to draw the long bow at longbow n. Phrases. Now historical and rare.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > mental capacity > knowledge > conformity with what is known, truth > exaggeration, hyperbole > speak or do with exaggeration [phrase]
to go beyond the moon?c1430
to cast beyond the moon1559
to lay on load?1562
to lay it on with a trowela1616
all (his) geese are swans1621
to draw (also pull, shoot) the long bow1667
to lay it on thick1740
to sling (also fling, throw) the hatchet1778
to come it1796
to make a thing about (also of)1813
to draw with the long-bow1823
to pitch it strong1823
to overegg the pudding1845
to put (spread, etc.) it on thick1865
to god it1870
to strong it1964
to stretch it (or things)1965
1778 F. Pilon Invasion i. 14 Tat. Split my drum sticks, how you do fling the hatchet, Serjeant! Drill. Why do you doubt my word, you dog!
1821 P. Egan Life in London iii. 217 There is nothing..‘throwing the hatchet’ about this description. It is the plain and naked truth.
1826 J. O'Keeffe Recoll. I. iv. 147 Saying this, I do not myself fling the hatchet, as Daly told me the circumstance.
1893 T. B. Foreman Trip to Spain 97 The ladies titter, knowing, as we do, the skipper's habit of slinging the hatchet.
1901 E. R. Suffling Innocents on Broads x. 244 If you can't sling the hatchet with any man..I'll eat my boots... You are a proper liar, and no mistake.
1996 J. A. Ferguson Miss Charity's Case x. 121 Sling the hatchet at someone else, young man. I do not need you lathering me with untruths.
c. to throw the helve after the hatchet: see helve n. 1b. pap with a hatchet: see pap n.2 4.
P2.
a. With reference or allusion to the custom among some American Indian peoples of burying a hatchet when peace has been made after fighting (see quot. 1680 at Phrases 2a(a)). Cf. tomahawk n. Phrases 1.
(a) to bury the hatchet: to stop fighting; to end a quarrel; to make peace.
ΚΠ
1680 S. Sewall in New-Eng. Historical & Geneal. Reg. (1870) XXIV. 121 Meeting wth ye Sachem the[y] came to an agreemt and buried two Axes in ye Ground;..which ceremony to them is more significant & binding than all Articles of Peace the Hatchet being a principal weapon wth ym.]
1694 Acct. Treaty between Benjamin Fletcher & Indians of Five Nations 22 The French Indians should come to me, and desire to bury the Hatchet, as you have gone to Canada to do the like.
1754 in Coll. Mass. Hist. Soc. (1836) 3rd Ser. V. 10 We have ordered..our Governor of New York to hold an interview with them [sc. the Six Nations] for delivering those presents, [and] for burying the hatchet.
1794 J. Jay Corr. & Public Papers (1893) IV. 147 To use an Indian figure, may the hatchet henceforth be buried for ever.
1819 J. Heckewelder Acct. Hist., Manners, & Customs Indian Nations xii, in Trans. Hist. & Lit. Comm. Amer. Philos. Soc. 1 125 Metaphorical Expressions... ‘To bury the hatchet’,—To make, or conclude a peace.
1898 Sketch 3 Aug. 50/1 I asked papa how grown-ups made friends again, after they had quarrelled. He said, ‘Oh, they bury the hatchet and smoke the pipe of peace.’
1930 Oxf. Ann. Girls 53/2 All that doesn't matter one hoot. You two ought to bury the hatchet, and start enjoying life.
2014 Radio Times 26 July (South/West ed.) 90/4 Taw Jackson and Lomax are two rivals who decide to bury the hatchet when Jackson is released from jail.
(b) to dig up the hatchet: to resume fighting after a period of peace; (more generally) to renew hostilities.
ΚΠ
1727 C. Colden Hist. Five Indian Nations iii. 70 If ever he should hear of the like Complaint, he would dig up the Hatchet, and joyn with the rest of the English to cut them off, Root and Branch.
1877 F. Parkman Count Frontenac 108 I thank you for bringing back the calumet of peace..and I give you joy that you have not dug up the hatchet.
1913 T. W. Burgess Boy Scouts on Swift River xii. 172 He was wise enough to realize the futility of digging up the hatchet again, but his heart was ever turned from the white men.
2015 GQ (Nexis) Dec. 146 Unable to set aside his pride, Trump dug up the hatchet once more.
b. to take up the hatchet: to declare war; to begin fighting; (more generally) to commence hostilities. Cf. to take up the tomahawk at tomahawk n. Phrases 1b.
ΘΚΠ
society > armed hostility > [verb (intransitive)] > begin hostilities
asty1297
to take weapon in handa1538
to raise one's standard1548
to rise in arms1563
to take (up) armsa1593
to break into arms1594
to unsheathe the sword1649
to take up the hatchet1694
to throw away the scabbard1704
to fly to arms1847
1694 Acct. Treaty between Benjamin Fletcher & Indians of Five Nations 27 The Senekes of late have sent a Belt of Wampum to the Indians of Delaware River, requiring them to take up the Hatchet of War, and fight along with them.
1753 G. Washington Jrnl. in Writings (1889) I. 21 Three Nations of French Indians..had taken up the Hatchet against the English.
1855 W. Irving Life Washington I. 78 Singis..was one of the greatest warriors of his tribe, and ‘took up the hatchet’ at various times against the English.
1951 Wisconsin Mag. Hist. 35 56/1 The causes which led the Indians to take up the hatchet against the English were several in number.
2006 Globe & Mail (Toronto) (Nexis) 11 Apr. (Business section) a3 China Unicom is ‘taking up the hatchet’ against Blackberry.
Compounds
C1. General attributive, as hatchet-edge, hatchet-head, etc.Some of the more established compounds of this type are treated separately.
ΚΠ
1648 Royall Diurnall 14–22 Aug. sig. D2 Read this ore againe Doctour Hatchet face.
a1676 M. Hale Pleas of Crown (1678) 26 Chancemedley, where a Man doing a lawful act, without intent of hurt to another, and death casually ensues. As..hewing a Tree and the Hatchet-head flies off.
1758 tr. A. S. Maillard Acct. Micmakis & Maricheets 27 A stick, made much in the form of a hatchet-handle.
1858 H. Miller Cruise of Betsey vi. 98 The Scuir..resembled a sharp hatchet-edge presented to the sky.
1911 F. M. Farmer Catering for Special Occasions iii. 58 Cut into hatchet shapes, which can be easily accomplished with a pasteboard pattern and sharp knife.
2009 Austral. Archaeol. No 68. 54 At one location also containing flaked glass and stone artefacts, a rusted steel hatchet head was discovered.
C2. † hatchet moulding n. [probably a variant of hatched moulding n. at hatched adj.2 Compounds] Obsolete a moulding ornamented with two series of parallel incisions crossing each other; a hatched moulding.
hatchet face n. a narrow or sharp-featured face, often with a severe or hostile expression; (a name for) a person with such a face or expression.
ΘΚΠ
the world > life > the body > external parts of body > head > face > types of face > [noun]
muskin1530
vizard1568
monkey-face?1589
chitty-face1601
angel face1605
smock-face1605
fish-facea1625
platter face1631
ammunition face1649
horn-facea1668
baby facea1684
crab face1706
hatchet face1707
splatter-face1707
paddock-face1724
pudding face1748
dough face1755
Madonna face1790
company face1798
moon-face1822
pug-facea1845
puss1844
frog-face1872
bun-face1913
bitch face1969
1707 J. Stevens tr. F. de Quevedo Comical Wks. 420 A Lanthorn-Jaw'd Woman, with a Hatchet-Face.
1855 T. B. Macaulay Hist. Eng. IV. xviii. 230 They had pulled him about and called him Hatchetface.
1939 J. S. Bixler Relig. for Free Minds iv. 44 Mr. Heard points to changes in physical appearance—the Englishman assuming what he calls ‘a hatchet face with rabbit mouth’.
2009 Herald Express (Torquay) (Nexis) 21 Aug. 24 Grandad had a hatchet face and unforgiving nature.
hatchet-faced adj. having a narrow or sharp-featured face, often with a severe or hostile expression.
ΘΚΠ
the world > life > the body > external parts of body > head > face > types of face > [adjective]
flatc1400
hardc1400
low-cheeredc1400
large?a1425
ruscledc1440
well-visagedc1440
platter-faced1533
well-faced1534
full-faced1543
fair-faced1553
bright-faceda1560
crab-faced1563
crab-snouted1563
crab-tree-faced1563
long-visaged1584
owlya1586
wainscot-faced1588
flaberkin1592
rough-hewn1593
angel-faced1594
round-faced1594
crab-favoured1596
rugged1596
weasel-faced1596
rough-faced1598
half-faced1600
chitty1601
lenten-faced1604
broad-faced1607
dog-faced1607
weaselled-faced1607
wry-faced1607
maid-faced1610
warp-faced1611
ill-faceda1616
lean-faceda1616
old-faceda1616
moon-faced1619
monkey-faced1620
chitty-face1622
chitty-faceda1627
lean-chapt1629
antic-faced1635
bloat-faced1638
bacon-facea1640
blue-faced1640
hatchet-faced1648
grave1650
lean-jawed1679
smock-faced1684
lean-visaged1686
flaber1687
baby-faced1692
splatter-faced1707
chubby1722
puggy1722
block-faced1751
haggard-looking1756
long-faced1762
haggardly1763
fresh-faced1766
dough-faced1773
pudding-faced1777
baby-featured1780
fat-faced1782
haggard1787
weazen-face1794
keen1798
ferret-like1801
lean-cheeked1812
mulberry-faced1812
open-faced1813
open-countenanced1819
chiselled1821
hatchety1821
misfeatured1822
terse1824
weazen-faced1824
mahogany-faced1825
clock-faced1827
sharp1832
sensual1833
beef-faced1838
weaselly1838
ferret-faced1840
sensuous1843
rat-faced1844
recedent1849
neat-faced1850
cherubimical1854
pinch-faced1859
cherubic1860
frownya1861
receding1866
weak1882
misfeaturing1885
platopic1885
platyopic1885
pro-opic1885
wind-splitting1890
falcon-face1891
blunt-featured1916
bun-faced1927
fish-faced1963
1648 Mercurius Aulicus 24 Feb.–2 Mar. sig. E2 If any Hatchet-fac'd Independent in the House dare deny this, I will maintaine he lyes (like a Traytor) in his throat.
1762 Life, Trav., & Adventures Christopher Wagstaff II. xxxii. 151 Pray mind that solemn, grave, hatchet-faced old fellow.
1824 W. Irving Tales of Traveller I. 12 A thin hatchet-faced gentleman, with projecting eyes like a lobster.
1904 F. Crissey Tattlings Retired Politician ii. 42 A hatchet-faced lawyer..made a quick round-up of the representatives of the corporate interests.
2014 T. McCulloch Stillman 67 I remembered..images of hatchet-faced leaders and khaki parades.
hatchet fashion adv. and n. (a) adv. in the way a hatchet is used or wielded; (b) n. a manner resembling the wielding or using of a hatchet.
ΚΠ
1829 United Service Jrnl. Feb. 315 The latter manoeuvre was too Frenchified and scholar-like for Jack, who hit hatchet fashion, felling the Greeks like cattle.
1913 Times of India 9 Jan. 11/4 Such implements were used hatchet-fashion.
1928 N.Y. Times 23 Dec. iii. 2/3 The wrecking of a speakeasy here by Mrs. Maud Wilson in the hatchet fashion made famous by the late Carrie Nation has started a drive on vice.
2010 S. Sayler What your Body says iv. 55 The friend begins to gesture towards John with a rigid forearm, moving it up and down quickly in a hatchet fashion.
hatchet fish n. any of various fish having a deep, narrow body thought to resemble a hatchet; esp. (a) any fish of the subfamily Sternoptychinae of deep sea fishes found in tropical to temperate waters around the world; (b) any fish of the family Gasteropelecidae of South and Central American freshwater fishes, popular as aquarium fish.
ΘΚΠ
the world > animals > fish > class Osteichthyes or Teleostomi > order Salmoniformes (salmon or trout) > [noun] > member of Sternoptychidae (sea hatchet-fish)
hatchet fish1848
pearlsides1859
the world > animals > fish > class Osteichthyes or Teleostomi > order Salmoniformes (salmon or trout) > superorder Ostariophysi or order Cypriniformes > [noun] > suborder Characoidei > member of family Gasteropelecidae (hatchet fish)
hatchet fish1848
1848 Ann. & Mag. Nat. Hist. 2 15 Fam. Squamipennes, Cuv. Pempheris Schomburgkii, Müll. et Tr. nov. spec...Hatchet Fish.
1931 J. R. Norman Hist. Fishes xii. 231 (caption) Hatchet-fish (Argyropelecus sp.).
2013 Ireland's Own 12 Apr. 45/2 When in danger, the agile Hatchet fish uses strong fins at the sides of its body to fly short distances above the water.
hatchet fist n. rare a fist which can strike sharply like a hatchet.
ΚΠ
1798 Sporting Mag. Apr. 18/2 A most violent and unexpected blow of his hatchet fist.
1977 A. Lloyd Great Prize Fight 140 In place of the convenient victim of the early rounds flitted the will-o'-the-wisp..; a fighting shadow with a hatchet fist.
hatchet-headed adj. (esp. of a person) having a long narrow head.
ΚΠ
1712 J. Dunton Preaching-weathercock 32 Such a Weasel-Fac'd, Saddle-Nos'd, Wall-Ey'd, Hatchet-Headed, White-Liver'd Parson as Will ——.
1837 Edwards's Bot. Reg. 23 Pl. 2012 An ovule with its singular hatchet-headed stalk.
1912 E. Phillpotts Lovers xix. 245 An old, hatchet-headed, grey-whiskered cuss he was.
2001 I. Sinclair Landor's Tower (2002) ii. ix. 287 Seated beside him, hatchet-headed, gun in hand, was Freddie Foreman, the fearsome enforcer.
hatchet jaw n. a sharp narrow jaw.
ΚΠ
1857 G. Meredith Farina 199 Something in the cruel hang of his threatening hatchet jaw silenced many in the act of confirming the assertion.
1992 M. Bishop Count Geiger's Blues lxiv. 339 Hamilcar Clede, a forty-year-old man with the hatchet jaw of a farmer.
ΚΠ
1790 Trans. Royal Irish Acad. 1789 3 57 Others..were abundantly charged with peculiar sculpture, as the chevron work or zig-zag moulding; the embattled frette,..and the hatchet moulding.
1898 W. D. Sweeting Cathedral Church Peterborough iii. 60 The ornamentation throughout is plentiful, but we see nothing but the billet, chevron and the hatchet moulding.
1902 P. H. Ditchfield Cathedrals Great Brit. 371 The hatchet moulding is conspicuous.
hatchet stake n. a small anvil for bending thin sheet metal; cf. stake n.1 5a.
ΚΠ
1843 C. Holtzapffel Turning & Mech. Manip. I. 387 Fig. 215, the hatchet-stake, is from two to ten inches wide; it is very much used for bending the thin metals.
1919 E. Thatcher Making Tin Can Toys xi. 124 The top edge of the hatchet stake is used to fold the tin over.
2008 R. Timings Fabrication & Welding Engin. vii. 308 The hatchet stake has a sharp, straight edge bevelled on one side. It is very useful for making sharp bends, folding the edges of sheet metal [etc.].
hatchet vetch n. either of two leguminous Mediterranean plants, spec. (a) (also hatchet fitch) Securigerea securidaca, having yellow flowers and flattened seeds thought to resemble the head of a hatchet (now chiefly historical); †(b) (also more fully bastard hatchet vetch) Astragalus pelecinus, having pink and purple flowers and long, flattened seed pods with deeply scalloped edges (obsolete). S. securidaca is also called ax fitch.
ΘΚΠ
the world > plants > particular plants > plants and herbs > according to family > leguminous plants > [noun] > other leguminous plants
peaseOE
vetchc1400
hatchet vetch1548
mock liquorice1548
scorpion's tail1548
ax-fitch1562
ax-seed1562
axwort1562
treacle clover1562
lady's finger1575
bird's-foot1578
goat's rue1578
horseshoe1578
caterpillar1597
kidney-vetch1597
horseshoe-vetch1640
goat rue1657
kidney-fetch1671
galega1685
stanch1726
scorpion senna1731
Dolichos1753
Sophora1753
partridge pea1787
bauhinia1790
coronilla1793
swamp pea-tree1796
Mysore thorn1814
devil's shoestring1817
pencil flower1817
rattlebox1817
Canavalia1828
milk plant1830
joint-vetch1836
milk pea1843
prairie clover1857
oxytrope1858
rattleweed1864
wart-herb1864
snail-flower1866
poison pea1884
masu1900
money bush1924
Townsville stylo1970
orange bird's-foot2007
1548 W. Turner Names of Herbes sig. G. iv Securidaca..maye be called in englishe Axfiche or Hachetfiche, because the seede resembleth an Hatchet.
1597 J. Gerard Herball ii. 1055 Hatchet Fetches.
1651 L. Sowerby Ladies Dispensatory 162 Hatchet Fitch used in a Suppository before the carnall knowledge of a man.
1668 Bp. J. Wilkins Ess. Real Char. 98 Hatchet vetch..being long and slender, of grassy leaves.
1706 Phillips's New World of Words (new ed.) at Pelecinus Hatchet-vetch, a Weed that grows amidst Corn.
1773 W. Hanbury Compl. Body Planting & Gardening II. 102/1 Annual Spanish Coronilla..is usually called Hatchet Vetch and is the Securidaca of old botanists.
1812 W. T. Aiton Hortus Kewensis (ed. 2) IV. 373 Biserrula... Bastard Hatchet-vetch. Nat. of the South of Europe.
1887 G. Nicholson Illustr. Dict. Gardening III. 402/2 Hatchet Vetch. fl. yellow.
1912 Americana 21 at Vetch The bastard hatchet-vetch is Biserrula pelecinus, with linear pods flattened transversely to the valve-edges.
1994 E. J. Clement & M. C. Foster Alien Plants Brit. Isles 167 Securigera... securidaca... Hatchet Vetch.
2012 U. Quattrocchi CRC World Dict. Medicinal & Poisonous Plants 3386/2 Plinius used securidaca or securiclata for a weed growing among lentils, the hatchet-vetch.
Derivatives
ˈhatchetlike adj.
ΚΠ
1801 ‘P. Pindar’ Out at Last! 12 My visage (hatchet-like, indeed!) In shops the gaping mob shall feed.
1872 Harper's Mag. Jan. 248/1 The hollow chest; the hatchet-like shoulder-blades; the ghastly protruding ribs and collar-bones.
1930 A. Reischek Yesterdays in Maoriland (1933) 152 Others carried wooden lances or long, hatchet-like weapons called tewhatewha.
2009 Schools 6 82 He came and searched her locker. He found and showed me a small hatchetlike weapon.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, March 2017; most recently modified version published online June 2022).
hatchetv.
/ˈhatʃɪt/, U.S. /ˈhætʃət/ 1. transitive. To cut or attack with a hatchet, esp. in order to remove, damage, or kill.
ΘΚΠ
the world > existence and causation > creation > destruction > cutting > cut [verb (transitive)] > with a specific instrument
sawa1225
kembc1480
falchiona1529
hatchet1603
jackknife1806
scissor1840
knive1851
knife1890
paper-knife1898
1603 J. Florio in tr. M. de Montaigne Ess. i. Ep. Ded. sig. A2 I..serve but as Vulcan, to hatchet this Minerva from that Iupiters bigge braine.
1700 S. Parker 6 Philos. Ess. 36 A large stump of a Tree..hatcheted into an Elbow Chair.
1764 B. Franklin Narr. Massacres Lancaster County 6 These poor defenceless Creatures were immediately fired upon, stabbed and hatcheted to Death!
1813 T. Clarkson Mem. W. Penn xxi. 483 The good old Chief Shehaes, who had assisted at one of the treaties with William Penn himself..was hatcheted in his bed.
1839 T. Campbell Let. in W. Beattie Life & Lett. T. Campbell (1849) III. 279 The glorious old King John of Bohemia..after hatcheting foes whom he could not see, lying dead amidst his followers!
1913 Out West Feb. 88/1 Dr. Bo Poon, who departed our midst some months ago, was hatcheted to death.
1971 G. Barker Coll. Poems (1987) 567 I have heard..that shriek like a voice start out from the quick of the cut tree when hatcheted to the heart.
2009 Daily Tel. 27 Feb. 27/2 Blood spurts, arms are sawn off, heads are hatcheted, necks broken.
2. transitive. figurative. Originally U.S. To remove, attack, or damage, as if with a hatchet; spec. (a) to apply cutbacks to (services, jobs, etc.); to dismiss (staff); cf. axe v. 2; (b) to attack and destroy the reputation of.Cf. hatchet man n. 3, hatchet job n.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > attention and judgement > contempt > disrepute > damage to reputation > detract from [verb (transitive)] > attack reputation of
impeach1600
hatchet1959
1932 Huntingdon (Pa.) Daily News 23 July 4/4 Probe of milk industry hatcheted by Senator Adams's committee.
1959 ‘B. O'Brien’ Operators & Things (1960) i. 34 Even the Knoxes were willing to hatchet each other.
1977 Hammond (Louisiana) Daily Star 13 Apr. 2/4 He said he had been harassed and ‘hatcheted’ by the news media.
1998 P. Grace Baby No-eyes (1999) xv. 127 ‘We've had the consultants in and we're doing a hatchet job.’.. ‘Have you been hatcheted?’
2002 Birmingham Post (Nexis) 29 Mar. 8 Re-creating the 45,000 jobs hatcheted by the Post Office may be expected, therefore, to cost the state something like £1,170m in regeneration funding.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, March 2017; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
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n.a1350v.1603