ax (third-person singular simple present axes, present participle axing, simple past and past participle axed)
US standard spelling of axe.
Etymology 2
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From Middle Englishaxen, aksen, axien, from Old Englishācsian and āxian, showing metathesis from āscian. Ax/aks was common in literary works until about 1600.
Verb
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ax (third-person singular simple present axes, present participle axing, simple past and past participle axed)
(now nonstandard or dialectal, especially African-American Vernacular, MLE and Bermuda)Alternative form of ask.
1526, [William Tyndale, transl.], The Newe Testamẽt[…] (Tyndale Bible), [Worms, Germany: Peter Schöffer], →OCLC, Acts:When they were come togedder, they axed off hym, sayinge: Master wilt thou at this tyme restore agayne the kyngdom of israhel?
1836, Joanna Baillie, The Alienated Manor, act 4:Dolly: And if so be, why did you ax me to keep you company? Housekeeper wants me below to pick raisins.
1879, William Barnes, “The Welshnut Tree”, in Complete Poems, volume 1, page 106:Ar try who'l ax em the hardest riddle,Ar soonest vind out oone put us, true...
1887, Gilbert and Sullivan, Ruddigore, act 1:Richard Dauntless: "But, axin' your pardon, miss, might I be permitted to salute the flag I'm a-goin' to sail under?"
1979, Verna Mae Slone, What My Heart Wants to Tell, page 18:‘I axed him if he knowed the way and he said he had not fergitten the lay of the land.’
2006 Sept. 17, David Mills, "Soft Eyes", The Wire, 00:19:01: Wise: Your boy left here a while agoJohnson: I ain' lookin' for him. He at his granmother's. I wanted to ax you somethin'.
2013 September 5, James Burton, The Bermuda Sun[1], archived from the original on 12 December 2022:He's cool. Does triathlons dahn de Sahn. Don't drink. Ax me if I want a lift to de beach — he hurd it's a dahnce goin on dahn thurr.
Usage notes
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This and related forms of ask have been used since Old English and were long employed in literature and prestige dialects. Chaucer used ask, ax, and axe interchangeably. They remain in use in some rural areas of Britain and Appalachia but are now regarded as nonstandard and are primarily associated with AAVE dialects in the US and MLE or West Country dialects in the UK, as well as being in some Irish English dialects, and sometimes in New Zealand, especially among Maori English speakers.
References
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McWhorter, John. "The 'Ax' versus 'Ask' Question", LA Times, 19 Jan. 2014.
Antigua and Barbuda Creole English
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Etymology
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From Englishask.
Verb
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ax (past min ax, future go ax, a go ax, wi ax, wil ax, completive dun ax, imperfective a ax)
ask
Eastern Huasteca Nahuatl
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Adverb
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ax
not
Icelandic
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Etymology
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From Old Norseax.
Pronunciation
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IPA(key): /axs/, /aks/
Noun
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axn (genitive singularax, nominative plural öx)
ear (of corn)
Declension
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Declension of ax (neuter)
singular
plural
indefinite
definite
indefinite
definite
nominative
ax
axið
öx
öxin
accusative
ax
axið
öx
öxin
dative
axi
axinu
öxum
öxunum
genitive
ax
axins
axa
axanna
Jamaican Creole
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Verb
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ax
alternative spelling of aks
2006, Amina Blackwood-Meeks, “Aiming at your dreams”, in The Jamaica Gleaner[2] (in Jamaican Creole):“Well she sey one a de man dem come right up to har car window an show har fe him sign wid him finga, order har outa de plaza like sey it was him personal yaad an ax har if she tink sey chu hooman a go tun Prime Minista she can jus come park which part she have a mind. […]”So she said one of the men walked right up to her car window and pointed at his sign with his finger and ordered her to leave the plaza as if it were his own home. He asked her if she thought that the fact that a woman was going to become Prime Minister that she could just park anywhere she wanted to. […]
Middle English
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Etymology 1
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From Old Englishæx, æcs, from Proto-West Germanic*akusi.
Alternative forms
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axe, ex, exe
Pronunciation
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IPA(key): /aks/
Rhymes: -aks
Noun
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ax (pluralaxes)
An axe (tool)
An axe (weapon)
Descendants
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English: axe, ax
Scots: aix
References
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“ax(e, n.(1).”, in MED Online, Ann Arbor, Mich.: University of Michigan, 2007, retrieved 24 April 2018.
Etymology 2
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From Old Englisheax, from Proto-Germanic*ahsu.
Alternative forms
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ȝex
Pronunciation
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IPA(key): /aks/
Rhymes: -aks
Noun
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ax (pluralaxes)
(rare) An axle, axletree, pole
Derived terms
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extre
References
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“ax(e, n.(2).”, in MED Online, Ann Arbor, Mich.: University of Michigan, 2007, retrieved 24 April 2018.
Northern Kurdish
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Etymology
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Akin to Persianخاک(xâk, “earth, soil, dust”). From Proto-Iranian*HáHhah, from Proto-Indo-European*h₂eHs-(“to be dry”).
Pronunciation
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IPA(key): /ɑːx/
Noun
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axf (Arabic spelling ئاخ)
dirt, ground, soil, earthSynonyms:erd, xwelî
dustSynonym:xubar
matter
Declension
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Declension of ax
definite feminine gender
case
singular
plural
nominative
ax
ax
construct
axa
axên
oblique
axê
axan
demonstrative oblique
wê axê
wan axan
vocative
axê
axino
indefinite feminine gender
case
singular
plural
nominative
axek
axin
construct
axeke
axine
oblique
axekê
axinan
Derived terms
[edit]
binax
References
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Chyet, Michael L. (2003), “ax”, in Kurdish–English Dictionary[3], with selected etymologies by Martin Schwartz, New Haven and London: Yale University Press, page 14
Old French
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Contraction
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ax
Contraction of a + les (to the)
Old Norse
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Etymology
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From Proto-Germanic*ahsą, from *ahaz(“ear (of grain)”).
Noun
[edit]
axn (genitiveax, plural ǫx)
ear (of corn)
Declension
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Declension of ax (strong a-stem)
neuter
singular
plural
indefinite
definite
indefinite
definite
nominative
ax
axit
ǫx
ǫxin
accusative
ax
axit
ǫx
ǫxin
dative
axi
axinu
ǫxum
ǫxunum
genitive
ax
axins
axa
axanna
Descendants
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Icelandic: ax
Norwegian Nynorsk: aks
Norwegian Bokmål: aks
Old Swedish: ax
Swedish: ax
Danish: aks
Further reading
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Zoëga, Geir T. (1910), “ax”, in A Concise Dictionary of Old Icelandic, Oxford: Clarendon Press; also available at the Internet Archive
Romanian
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Etymology
[edit]
Borrowed from Frenchaxe, from Latinaxis. Doublet of axă and osie.
Potanin, G.N. (1893), “ax”, in Тангутско-Тибетская окраина Китая и Центральная Монголия (in Russian), page 430
Poyarkov, Alexei; Ladygin, Vasiliy (1893), “Салары. Этнографический очерк [The Salars: An Ethnographic Sketch]”, in Этнографическое ОбозрѢніе: Императорскаго Общества Любителей Естествознанія, Антропологіи и Этнографіи [Ethnographical Review: Imperial Society of Lovers of Natural History, Anthropology and Ethnography][4] (in Russian), Moscow: Publication of the Ethnographic Department, page 33
Rockhill, William Woodville (1894), Diary of a journey through Mongolia and Tibet in 1891 and 1892, Washington: Smithsonian Institution, page 373
Poppe, Nicholas (1953). Remarks on The Salar Language. Harvard Journal of Asiatic Studies, 16(3/4), 438–477. [5]
Kakuk, S. (1962), “ax”, in “Un Vocabulaire Salar”, in Acta Orientalia Academiae Scientiarum Hungaricae[6], volume 14, number 2, Akadémiai Kiadó, →ISBN, pages 173-196
Tenishev, Edhem (1976), “ax”, in Stroj salárskovo jazyká [Grammar of Salar], Moscow, page 298
林莲云 [Lin Lianyun] (1985), “ax”, in 撒拉语简志 [A Brief History of Salar][7], Beijing: 民族出版社: 琴書店, →OCLC, page 44
Yakup, Abdurishid (2002), “ax”, in An Ili Salar Vocabulary: Introduction and a Provisional Salar-English Lexicon[8], Tokyo: University of Tokyo, →ISBN, pages 34-36
Dwyer, Arienne M. (2007), “ax”, in Salar: A Study in Inner Asian Language Contact Processes: Part I: Phonology[9], 1st edition, Wiesbaden: Harrassowitz Verlag, →ISBN, page 156
马伟 (Ma Wei) (2016), “ax”, in 濒危语言——撒拉语研究 [Endangered Languages - Salar Language Studies], 青海 (Qinghai): 青海师范大学 (Qinghai Normal University), Unpublished finalized project manuscript (国家社会科学基金项目结项稿, 定稿; National Social Science Fund of China), page 292
