WAPENTAKE

[wa.pen.take] n [ME, fr. OE waepentaec, fr. ON vapnatak act of grasping weapons, fr. vapn weapon + tak act of grasping, fr. taka to take; prob. fr. the brandishing of weapons as an expression of approval when the chief of the wapentake entered upon his office--more at weapon, take] (bef. 12c): a subdivision of some English shires corresponding to a hundred