I. noun
or pole·axe or pol·lax or pol·laxe ˈpōˌlaks
Etymology: Middle English polax, pollax, from pol, polle head + ax — more at poll
1.
a. : a battle-ax with a short handle and often a cutting edge or point opposite the blade
b. : one having a long handle and used as an ornamental weapon (as by members of a royal bodyguard)
2. : a short ax with a strong hook at the top of the handle formerly used in naval warfare especially by boarders
3. : an ax made with a hammer face opposite the edge and used in slaughtering cattle
II. transitive verb
or poleaxe or pollax or pollaxe “
: to attack, strike, or fell with or as if with a poleax
the oxen … were shot or poleaxed — H.W.Nevinson
the crowds … had already been poleaxed, mentally and emotionally — Benedict Thielen