The Sledge in Sledgehammer Is a Different Word
A sledge slides over snow. But the sledge in sledgehammer comes from an old verb meaning to strike, not from the vehicle.
A sledge is a vehicle on runners for travelling over snow. The sledge in *sledgehammer* has nothing to do with it: that one comes from Old English *slecg*, a heavy hammer, built on the same root as *slay*, to strike. Two unrelated words met in the same spelling. In cricket, to sledge means to insult an opponent to break their concentration — probably a third development.
- A snow vehicle (British). *A wooden sledge.*
- A heavy hammer. *Swing the sledge.*
- Sledgehammer — the compound. *A sledgehammer blow.*
- To insult an opponent (cricket). *He was sledged all afternoon.*
- Sled — the American form of the vehicle. *A plastic sled.*
Word forms
| Form | Word | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Noun | sledge | An old sledge. |
| Plural | sledges | Two sledges. |
| Verb | sledge | They sledged downhill. |
| American | sled | A red sled. |
| Compound | sledgehammer | A sledgehammer. |
- The dogs pulled the sledge across the ice.Polar expeditions.
- It took a sledgehammer to shift the stump.The tool.
- Using a sledgehammer to crack a nut.Idiom: excessive force.
Sledge, sled or sleigh?
- Sledge — the general British word
- Sled — the usual American word, often smaller
- Sleigh — horse-drawn, larger, often with seats
- Toboggan — a long flat sledge with no runners, from an Algonquian word
- All three relate to the verb *slide*
Middle Dutch *sleedse* for the vehicle. The hammer is Old English *slecg*, from the root of *slay*, to strike — the same root that gives *slaughter*.
Is a sledgehammer named after a sledge?
No. That sledge is an old word for a heavy hammer, related to slay and slaughter.
What does sledging mean in cricket?
Verbally provoking an opposing player to unsettle them. The term is Australian and dates from the 1960s.