HATCHET

hatchet. Hatchet, n. a small kind of ax

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Hatch″et (–ĕt), n. [[F. hachette, dim. of hache ax. See 1st Hatch, Hash.]] 1. 1. A small ax with a short handle, to be used with one hand.
2. 2. Specifically, a tomahawk.
Buried was the bloody hatchet. Longfellow. Hatchet face, a thin, sharp face, like the edge of a hatchet; hence: Hatchet-faced, sharp-visaged. Dryden. — To bury the hatchet, to make peace or become reconciled. — To take up the hatchet, to make or declare war. The last two phrases are derived from the practice of the American Indians.