half-pike
[ haf-pahyk, hahf- ]
noun
a short pike formerly used by sailors boarding enemy vessels.
Origin of half-pike
1First 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 WeymanThe 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. CalvertDesmond, 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 StrangIt seems originally to have been rather a short weapon, a kind of half-pike or dart.
Chaucer's Works, Volume 5 (of 7) -- Notes to the Canterbury Tales | Geoffrey Chaucerhalf-pike a short wooden staff, upon one end of which was a steel head.
Gulliver's Travels | Jonathan Swift
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