Talk:Poleaxe

Etymology
I tend to agree with the OED here, but I'm glad to see a serious source provided for the idea that this word comes from "pole." However, it seems silly to trance the word all the way back to Latin palus: according to this theory, pollaxe came from pole+axe. Why give the etymology of the word pole? Especially if we're not going to give the etymology of the word "axe" too. --Iustinus 21:42, 29 August 2006 (UTC)

Combine with Warhammer?
Maybe this should be combined with the Warhammer article?
 * While I suppose some could consider the warhammer a type of pollaxe, I don't think it quite qualifies as a close enough to merit a combination. The pollaxe is somewhat more varied in construction than the hammer (almost making it a larger broad category) as the article states. Naturally, variance in structure (especially the length [4-6.5] of the haft] means variance in use. The closest overlap, I believe, comes in the longer warhammers used, which would still lack (potentially) a cutting blade, flukes, and the top "spear point". If anything, I would suggest moving the warhammer article into this one, as the pollaxe provides a larger blanket of physical properties, some of which fit the warhammer.Xiliquiern 19:54, 7 September 2006 (UTC)

Pollaxe?
Interesting. I have to admit, when I clicked this link, I half expected to find some neologism about cutting through surveys (poll + axe). I've always seen it as poleaxe, as a result of it's a polearm, not a pollarm. Weird. LordAmeth 23:24, 8 January 2007 (UTC)

...and on that note, PirateLoriate, in the process making some very good edits overall, changed "however the accepted term is pollaxe" to "the standard spelling "pollaxe" is most common." One small problem: pollaxe is definitely not most common, as a quick Google search shows. It's also questionable that this is a "standard" spelling: the AHD lists it under poleax, and the OED lists it as poleaxe (link requires subscription, but see footnote in article for details). Pollaxe might be more correct in a historical sense (if the "poll" etymology is correct), it might be a spelling prefered by weapons experts (I don't know), and I confess that I like having it under this spelling (for what that's worth), but whatever the case, that spelling doesn't seem to be "common" or "standard." --Iustinus 19:13, 28 February 2007 (UTC)

On this same topic, if the article heading is "Pollaxe," why is the spelling "poleaxe" used throughout the article? If it is supposed to be called a "pollaxe," shouldn't that be the spelling used in the article? The Internet sites that use "pollaxe" do so consistently.

24.252.73.5 (talk) 13:48, 2 August 2008 (UTC)

I, too think that the wrong spelling has been chosen, presumably by someone who supports the etymology that is not an axe on a pole.

IceDragon64 (talk) 13:03, 18 March 2011 (UTC)

Really I am very surprised having seen rather an awkward spelling of this weapon- pollaxe- I have never come across this spelling until now and no dictionary!!!!! lists this spelling at all. Can we really change the name of the article to the much more generally-used term?

The editor who changed the spelling to "pollaxe" was simply the victim of a common mistake/misconception: he was led to believe that the way a word WAS spelled centuries ago must be superior to the way it IS spelled today. Historic spelling is truly an interesting topic, but it's misleading and silly to use it in a headword in an encyclopedia. Regardless of any ancient spelling's etymological validity, modern spelling is how things are spelled in all general encyclopedias, and historic spellings are either put into a footnote or ignored. (with the obvious exception of articles whose actual topic is spelling - and even for those, they aren't under the *headword* "Spellynge".) It's good to discuss the history of the name somewhere, but it's not good to spell the name of the article wrong, and yes it's wrong and not just a matter of taste. TooManyFingers (talk) 01:33, 29 July 2020 (UTC)

Dynasty Warriors
I removed the section: In the game Dynasty Warriors, the characther Xu Huang wields a large battle axe known as the "Marauder," and is easily identifiable by the white turban he wears in each release in the Dynasty Warriors series. His attacks are powerful, although slow, and his speed ranks in the below-average category, although his "Musou Attack" deals significant damage to any pursuing opponents.

as it's irrelevant to this; his weapon is a battle axe and described as such in the game and the Wikipedia entry, extremely oversized as Chinese fictional weaponry often is. --StarChaser Tyger 04:14, 22 July 2007 (UTC)

Pic Poleaxe?
If we define a poleaxe as a polearm with a relatively narrow axehead to pierce armour, then why do we show a pic of what I would call a halbard?

IceDragon64 (talk) 13:05, 18 March 2011 (UTC)

Here is a picture of an actual poleax from Paulus Hector Mair: http://daten.digitale-sammlungen.de/0000/bsb00007894/images/index.html?fip=193.174.98.30&id=00007894&seite=173

And for comparison, a halberd from the same book. Note the halberd is longer (6' vs 4'), doesn't have a butt spike, and doesn't have the perpendicular spikes coming out of the sides of the weapon. http://daten.digitale-sammlungen.de/0000/bsb00006570/images/index.html?fip=193.174.98.30&id=00006570&seite=387

I'll leave it to my betters to work this into the article. --Grauenwolf (talk) 06:57, 30 August 2012 (UTC)

pole-axe .vs. polled axe
A "poll" is a thick heavy back on an axe-blade. It can be used as a hammer but is principally intended to add weight. Felling axes are rarely polled, carpenter axes may have flat backs for hammering but are not polled, splitting axes are often polled and splitting mauls are by definition polled.

"Polled" is a smith's term and can be used as a verb or descriptive adjective - "I polled the axe by upsetting it with a loose mandrel through the eye to keep the shape". End users may say "poll backed" meaning the same thing as polled (adjective).

A pole-axe is an axe blade mounted on an unusually long handle or "pole". A pole-axe could be polled, but this would be very unusual, for the same reason most people wouldn't want a polled carpentry axe - adding weight behind the blade makes the tool or weapon less controllable and more fatiguing to employ.

In the pictures currently shown on the page, one is a halberd and the other looks like a war-hammer. Neither is definitely a pollaxe, although a halberd is certainly a pole-axe.

Confusion of these terms is not recent. Contradictory historical references are not difficult to find. "Poll" is pronounced identically to "pole" and spelling wasn't standardized until Webster.

So, both etymologies may well be correct, and there's always going to be a problem with determining a canonical reference. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 173.75.253.48 (talk) 17:13, 2 October 2012 (UTC)

Poll is the word for the head of a person or of an animal, and later for a short haircut. Can you find a printed example of "poll" as a smithing term *from earlier than when this tool got its name* (that is, from in the 1200s or early 1300s)? Smiths may have started calling their axe treatment "polling" long after all this word confusion started, perhaps by mistake. Unless there's printed evidence from 700 years ago, "polled axe" is probably a modern term that doesn't really belong in a discussion of how to handle this very old word. TooManyFingers (talk) 01:50, 29 July 2020 (UTC)

Pollaxe vs. halberd
Can someone explain what is the difference between a poleaxe and a halberd? They seem to me to be two names with differing etymologies for the same weapon. 93.136.19.247 (talk) 01:26, 6 March 2016 (UTC)

They are definitely not the same weapon, but you're right that there's 2 etymologies and a lot of overlap that makes it seem like they're the same. There are a few differences that are pretty much universal, however. A halberd has a hook on the back of the axe head, whereas a pollaxe has a hammerhead or spike. A halberd is typically longer than a pollaxe, so is the spike on top of a halberd compared to the spike on top of the pollaxe. The axe head on a halberd is often angled slightly below 90 degrees to the pole, whereas a pollaxe is always 90 degrees. Finally, the main difference is that a halberd is a dense formation weapon whereas a pollaxe is either a dueling or loose formation weapon. A pollaxe is shorter than a halberd and manuals of its use demonstrate a lot of lateral swings, which is only appropriate in dueling or loose formation scenarios. Its shorter length makes it less effective in dense formations because reach is important in a formation where each individual has limited space to move. A halberd is long and can form an effective pike wall, and its greater length only makes overhead swings practical, which speaks to its formation oriented use. In short, a pollaxe is a lot more versatile and maneuverable because its not meant to be used in a dense formation, a halberd is less maneuverable but has much better dense formation utility. ChippahDippah (talk) 17:38, 22 July 2019 (UTC)

In that case, the item on the shield in the image is a halberd. Drsruli (talk) 05:20, 19 February 2022 (UTC)