mattock

Noun

A digging tool similar to a pickaxe, with a broad blade.
a kind of pick that is used for digging; has a flat blade set at right angles to the handle
An agricultural tool whose blades are at right angles to the body, similar to a pickaxe.

Verb

To cut or dig with a mattock.

Examples

He swung the word MATTOCK onto the board, digging deep for points.

Origin / Etymology

From Middle English mattok (“mattock, pickaxe”), from Old English mattuc, meottoc, mettoc (“mattock, fork, trident”), from Proto-West Germanic *mattjuk (“mattock, ploughshare”), from Proto-Indo-European *met- (“to cut, reap”). Related to Old High German medela (“plough”), Middle High German metze, metz (“knife”), Latin mateola (“implement for digging in the soil”), Polish motyka (“hoe, mattock”), Russian моты́га (motýga, “hoe, mattock”), Lithuanian matikkas (“mattock”), Sanskrit मत्य (matyà, “harrow, roller, club”). More at mason.

Scrabble Score: 15

mattock: valid Scrabble (US) TWL Word
mattock: valid Scrabble Word in Merriam-Webster MW Dictionary
mattock: valid Scrabble Word in International Collins CSW Dictionary

Words With Friends Score: 17

mattock: valid Words With Friends Word