handspike

American  

[hand-spahyk] / ˈhændˌspaɪk /

noun

1. a bar used as a lever.

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handspike British  

/ ˈhændˌspaɪk /

noun

1. a bar or length of pipe used as a lever

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Etymology

Origin of handspike

1605–15; < Dutch handspaak ( see hand, spoke ²), with -spaak replaced by spike ¹

Example Sentences

I leapt ashore, seized a handspike, got it under the end of the stick, and prised it up quite clear of him.

From A Claim on Klondyke A Romance of the Arctic El Dorado by Roper, Edward

Then one threw down his axe and another his handspike and they all sneaked off toward the bow of the ship.

From My Service in the U.S. Colored Cavalry A Paper Read before the Ohio Commandery of the Loyal Legion, March 4, 1908 by Browne, Frederick W.

Then, picking up a handspike, she led them out, and for an hour walked beside them, tapping them with a long pointed stick, while they dragged the big logs out of the swamp.

From The Greater Power by Dunton, W. Herbert

Then he gave Frank a handspike that lay close by, and between them they prized up one end of a log so that he could slip a chain sling under it.

From The Boy Ranchers of Puget Sound by Bindloss, Harold

The sailors having hurried into the boats, the lieutenant seized a handspike, and knocking off the fastening of the hatchway, left it so that a very moderate amount of strength would force it up.

From Adventures of Hans Sterk The South African Hunter and Pioneer by Drayson, A. W. (Alfred Wilks)