half-pike

[ haf-pahyk, hahf- ]

noun
  1. a short pike formerly used by sailors boarding enemy vessels.

Origin of half-pike

1
First recorded in 1590–1600

Words Nearby half-pike

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use half-pike in a sentence

  • Claude bent over one, found what he wanted—a half-pike—and glided to the door of the stairs that led to the roof.

    The Long Night | Stanley Weyman
  • The first (A49—plate 24) is a harness for jousting on foot, with the two-handed sword, mace, or half-pike.

    Spanish Arms and Armour | Albert F. Calvert
  • Desmond, slim and athletic, dashed in upon the enemy with his half pike as they recoiled before Bulger's whirling musket.

    In Clive's Command | Herbert Strang
  • It seems originally to have been rather a short weapon, a kind of half-pike or dart.

  • half-pike a short wooden staff, upon one end of which was a steel head.

    Gulliver's Travels | Jonathan Swift