hand ax

American  

[hand aks] / ˈhænd ˌæks /

noun

1. Also hand axe a usually large, general-purpose bifacial Paleolithic stone tool, often oval or pear-shaped in form and characteristic of certain Lower Paleolithic industries.

2. broad hatchet.

---

hand ax Scientific  

/ hănd′ăks′ /

1. A cutting or chopping tool, especially of the Lower Paleolithic Period, typically consisting of a piece of flint or other coarse stone that has been flaked on both sides to produce a sharp edge running all around the perimeter. Hand axes are core tools (produced from a found stone rather than from a processed flake) and have been found in several basic, often pointed shapes, including oval, triangular, and cordate (heart-shaped). The most common Paleolithic tool, they are especially associated with the Acheulian and some Mousterian tool cultures.

---

Etymology

Origin of hand ax

before 1000; Middle English, Old English

Example Sentences

A small hand ax he was holding clanged on the ground.

From Seattle Times • Jun. 8, 2022

These tall, relatively large-brained ancestors of modern humans arose about 1.9 million years ago and soon afterward invented a sophisticated new tool, the hand ax.

From Science Magazine • Nov. 22, 2016

One person invents, say, a flint hand ax; the idea creeps across the landscape, gets improved here and there, and finally, in a distant land, stimulates a whole new idea: axes with handles conveniently attached.

From Time Magazine Archive

Oregon pine, hauling up a chain saw and hand ax.

From Time Magazine Archive

I forced it back and drove wedges in top and bottom with a hand ax.

From "Travels with Charley in Search of America" by John Steinbeck