helve

[helv]

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR helve ON THESAURUS.COM

noun

the handle of an ax, hatchet, hammer, or the like.

verb (used with object), helved, helv·ing.

to furnish with a helve.

Nearby words

Origin of helve

before 900; Middle English; Old English h(i)elfe

Related formshelv·er, nounun·helved, adjective

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for helve

But their throwing the helve after the hatchet, and giving up the malt-duty because they had lost the other, was droll enough.
Memoirs of the Life of Sir Walter Scott, Volume V (of 10)|John Gibson Lockhart
Up springs the hatchet from the bottom of the water, and fixes itself to its old acquaintance, the helve.
My Novel, Complete|Edward Bulwer-Lytton
So I used the helve of an entrenching-tool and the stalks of the willow undergrowth.
At Suvla Bay|John Hargrave
Having come somewhat painfully by that helve, I really wanted to see it in use.
Adventures In Contentment|David Grayson

The feel of the blow was good as the keen blade sank to the helve.
Connie Morgan in the Fur Country|James B. Hendryx

British Dictionary definitions for helve

helve

noun

the handle of a hand tool such as an axe or pick

verb

(tr) to fit a helve to (a tool)

Word Origin for helve

Old English hielfe; related to Old Saxon hèlvi, Old High German halb, Lithuanian kìlpa stirrup; see halter

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for helve

helve

Old English helfe, hielfe "handle of an axe" or other tool or weapon, from Proto-Germanic *halb- (cf. Old Saxon helvi, Middle Dutch helf, Old High German halb "handle of an axe," Old High German helmo "tiller"); related to halter and helm (1), from PIE *kelp- "to hold, grasp." In Middle English, to holden the axe bi the helve (c.1200) meant "to take something by the right end."