Dictionary:
mat·tock (măt'ək)  |
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| mattock |
| (© School Division, Houghton Mifflin Company) |
[Middle English, from Old English mattuc, perhaps from Vulgar Latin *matteūca, club, akin to *mattea. See mace1.]
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| Britannica Concise Encyclopedia: mattock |
For more information on mattock, visit Britannica.com.
| Architecture: mattock |
A tool for loosening soil in digging; shaped like a pickax, but having one of its ends broad instead of pointed.
| Archaeology Dictionary: mattock |
A digging tool comprising a flat blade set transversely to a wooden handle. The oldest examples are Mesolithic in date and were presumably used for digging holes and grubbing up edible roots and tubers. Later examples were extensively used for breaking up ground for agriculture. Also called a hoe.
| Wikipedia: Mattock |
A mattock is a hand tool similar to a pickaxe. It is distinguished by the head, which makes it particularly suitable for digging or breaking up moderately hard ground. A mattock has a broad chisel-like blade perpendicular to the handle.[1] This broad-bladed end is effectively an adze that could be used as a hoe as well. The reverse may have a pointed end, in which case the tool is called a pick mattock, or instead have an axe-like splitting end, then it is a cutter mattock. A combination axe and mattock used for fighting forest fires is a pulaski. In some regions of the southern USA, the mattock is called a "grub hoe" or "grub axe".
Mattock heads range from 1.5 to 3.5 kg (3 to 7 pounds) in weight, and are normally mounted on a 90 to 120 cm (3 to 4 foot) shaft. The shaft is often heavier than the head, sometimes possessing twice the mass and density of a baseball bat.
Mattocks are still frequently used for path work in hill areas such as the Scottish Highlands, and are used extensively in archaeological excavation.
Two-handed pick mattocks are very common in Australia.
During the Middle Ages of Europe, the mattock served as an improvised pole weapon for the poorer classes.
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| Translations: Mattock |
Dansk (Danish)
n. - ryddehakke
Deutsch (German)
n. - Breithacke
Ελληνική (Greek)
n. - αξίνα, τσάπα
Português (Portuguese)
n. - picareta (f)
Русский (Russian)
мотыга, рыхлить землю мотыгой
Svenska (Swedish)
n. - (röj)hacka
中文（简体）(Chinese (Simplified))
鹤嘴锄
中文（繁體）(Chinese (Traditional))
n. - 鶴嘴鋤
العربيه (Arabic)
(الاسم) معول, فأس,
עברית (Hebrew)
n. - מכוש, מעדר, חפרור
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 | pickax |
| grub axe |
| twibill |
 | What is a mattock? Read answer... |
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 | Where does mattocks come from? |
Copyrights:
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 | Dictionary. The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition Copyright © 2007, 2000 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Updated in 2009. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved. Read more |
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| Britannica Concise Encyclopedia. Britannica Concise Encyclopedia. © 2006 Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc. All rights reserved. Read more |
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| Architecture. McGraw-Hill Dictionary of Architecture and Construction. Copyright © 2003 by McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. Read more |
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| Archaeology Dictionary. The Concise Oxford Dictionary of Archaeology. Copyright © 2002, 2003 by Oxford University Press. All rights reserved. Read more |
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| Wikipedia. This article is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article "Mattock". Read more |
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| Translations. Copyright © 2007, WizCom Technologies Ltd. All rights reserved. Read more |
