Tomax

noun

noun ·Rare ·Advanced level

Definitions

Noun
  1. 1
    Synonym of tomahawk. obsolete

    "As there is lately arrived from America a Mohawk Indian Warrior, one of General J ohnson's Guards who had distinguished himself at the Battle of Lake George, (where General Johnson beat the French) by his singular Valour in taking the French General, Monsieur Desseau, Prisoner ; and as the above-named Indian Warrior (for the Gratification of the Curious) is expos'd to public View, dress'd in the same Manner with his native Indians when they go to War, with his Face and Body painted, his Scalping-knife, and Tomax, or Battle-axe, and all the other Implements that are used by Indians in Battle, we imagine a Copper-plate Print of this extraordianry Person will be agreeable."

Example

More examples

"As there is lately arrived from America a Mohawk Indian Warrior, one of General J ohnson's Guards who had distinguished himself at the Battle of Lake George, (where General Johnson beat the French) by his singular Valour in taking the French General, Monsieur Desseau, Prisoner ; and as the above-named Indian Warrior (for the Gratification of the Curious) is expos'd to public View, dress'd in the same Manner with his native Indians when they go to War, with his Face and Body painted, his Scalping-knife, and Tomax, or Battle-axe, and all the other Implements that are used by Indians in Battle, we imagine a Copper-plate Print of this extraordianry Person will be agreeable."

Etymology

Blend of tomahawk + axe. Dating from the 1750s, this is the first recorded portmanteau word in the English language.

Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.