Hatchet

How to spell hatchet

7 letters · 2 syllables

How to pronounce hatchet

Say the part in capitals loudest.

What does hatchet mean?

1. nounA small axe with a short handle, used with one hand for chopping.

Hatchet in a sentence

• He split the kindling with a sharp hatchet beside the fire.

• The camping kit included a folding saw and a compact hatchet.

Where does hatchet come from?

Language of origin: French

The word arrived in English in the 1300s from the Old French hachette, which meant 'little axe'. That word was a diminutive of hache, meaning simply 'axe', formed by adding the small-making ending -ette, so a hatchet was literally a small or hand-held version of the larger tool. The French hache itself traces back through Frankish to a Germanic root tied to chopping and cutting. The familiar phrase 'bury the hatchet', meaning to make peace, comes from a Native American custom of literally burying weapons to mark the end of hostilities. For spelling, it helps to remember the silent-feeling middle: the 'tch' cluster followed by the small diminutive ending -et, not the doubled -ett of some borrowings.

How the word is built

• hatch- (from Old French hache: axe)
• -et (diminutive suffix: small)