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 ( hand, spoke ² ), with -spaak replaced by spike ¹

Example Sentences

Friday went forward after a handspike, and Tom leaned his elbows on the rail and watched the approaching vessel.

From No Moss The Career of a Rolling Stone by Castlemon, Harry

The captain, seizing another handspike, approached Hans, as though to decide by single combat the question whether or not he was to obtain freedom; at least such was for a moment Hans’ idea.

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

As good cider as ever I drank was made in a hollowed log fitted with a press-block and operated by a handspike.

From Our Southern Highlanders by Kephart, Horace

Once or twice the handspike or peevie had been torn from his grasp, and the lives of his comrades had been placed in peril.

From The Greater Power by Dunton, W. Herbert

That peculiar gentleman-like and military air, even shouldering a handspike, could not be mistaken.

From Cedar Creek From the Shanty to the Settlement by Walshe, Elizabeth Hely