Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary · 1913
Poleax
Pole′ax′, Pole′axe′, n. [OE. pollax; cf. OD. pollexe. See Poll head, and Ax.] Anciently, a kind of battle-ax with a long handle; later, an ax or hatchet with a short handle, and a head variously patterned; — used by soldiers, and also by sailors in boarding a vessel.