pommel
[ puhm-uh l, pom- ]
/ ˈpʌm əl, ˈpɒm- /
noun
a knob, as on the hilt of a sword.
the protuberant part at the front and top of a saddle.
Architecture. a spherical ornament or finial.
Gymnastics. either of the two curved handles on the top surface of a side horse.
verb (used with object), pom·meled, pom·mel·ing or (especially British) pom·melled, pom·mel·ling.
to beat or strike with or as if with the fists or a pommel.
Nearby words
Also pummel.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019
Examples from the Web for pommel
British Dictionary definitions for pommel
pommel
/ (ˈpʌməl, ˈpɒm-) /
noun
the raised part on the front of a saddle
a knob at the top of a sword or similar weapon
verb -mels, -melling or -melled or US -mels, -meling or -meled
a less common word for pummel
Word Origin for pommel
C14: from Old French pomel knob, from Vulgar Latin pōmellum (unattested) little apple, from Latin pōmum apple
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition
© William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
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Word Origin and History for pommel
pommel
mid-13c., "ornamental knob;" c.1300, "knob at the end of a sword hilt," from Old French pomel (12c., Modern French pommeau), "rounded knob," diminutive of pom "hilt of a sword," from Late Latin pomellum, diminutive of Latin pomum "apple" (see Pomona), the connecting notion being "roundness." Sense of "front peak of a saddle" first recorded mid-15c. In Middle English poetry it also sometimes meant a woman's breast. The gymnast's pommel horse is attested from 1908.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper