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Origin and history of maul

maul(v.)

mid-13c., meallen "to strike, beat, or bruise with a heavy weapon," from Middle English mealle (mid-13c.) "mace, wooden club, heavy hammer" (see maul (n.)). It has gradually lost its association with hammering. To maul through "pierce with a pointed weapon" is attested by mid-14c.; and compare the meaning "split (rails) with wedges and a maul" (1680s). The meaning "damage seriously, mangle" is recorded by 1690s. Related: Mauled; mauling.

maul(n.)

c. 1200, mealle, "heavy wooden hammer or mallet; sledgehammer," from Old French mail "hammer," from Latin malleus "hammer" (from PIE root *mele- "to crush, grind").

also from c. 1200

Entries linking to maul

mallet(n.)

"small wooden hammer," chiefly used for driving another tool, late 14c., from Old French maillet "mallet, small wooden hammer, door-knocker," diminutive of mail, from Latin malleus "a hammer, mallet," from Proto-Italic *molalo-, *molklo- "hammer," from PIE *molkh-tlo- "crushing instrument," source also of Russian molot, Czech mlat "hammer," from PIE root *mele- "to crush, grind." It is wielded with one hand, while the heavier mall or maul requires both.

*mele-

*melə-, Proto-Indo-European root meaning "to crush, grind," with derivatives referring to ground or crumbling substances and crushing or grinding instruments.

It might form all or part of: amyl; amyloid; blintz; emmer; emolument; immolate; maelstrom; mall; malleable; malleolus; mallet; malleus; maul; meal (n.2) "edible ground grain;" mill (n.1) "building fitted to grind grain;" millet; mola; molar (n.); mold (n.3) "loose earth;" molder; ormolu; pall-mall.

It might also be the source of: Hittite mallanzi "they grind;" Armenian malem "I crush, bruise;" Greek mylos "millstone," myle "mill;" Latin molere "to grind," mola "millstone, mill," milium "millet;" Old English melu "meal, flour;" Albanian miel "meal, flour;" Old Church Slavonic meljo, Lithuanian malu, malti "to grind;" Old Church Slavonic mlatu, Russian molotu "hammer."

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    sledge
    "heavy hammer," formerly the largest hammer used in forges or by smiths, typically requiring two hands to wield, Middle English slegge, from Old English slecg "hammer, mallet," from Proto-Germanic *slagjo- (source also of Old Norse sleggja, Middle Swedish sleggia "sledgehammer;"
    mangle
    "to mutilate, to hack or cut by random, repeated blows," c. 1400, from Anglo-French mangler, frequentative of Old French mangoner "cut to pieces," a word of uncertain origin, perhaps connected with Old French mahaignier "to maim, mutilate, wound" (see maim). The figurative meanin
    moldwarp
    Dutch mulworp, Norwegian moldvarp, Danish muldvarp, Old High German multwurf, German Maulwurf (which has been influenced by Maul...
    mull
    The Norse word is related to Old Frisian mula, Middle Dutch mule, muul, Old High German mula, German Maul "muzzle, mouth....
    ram
    Old English ramm "male sheep," also "battering ram, instrument for crushing or driving by impact," and the zodiac sign; earlier rom "male sheep," a West Germanic word (cognates: Middle Low German, Middle Dutch, Dutch, Old High German ram), of unknown origin. Perhaps [Klein] conne
    mar
    Middle English merren "to deface, disfigure; impair in form or substance" (early 13c.), from Old English merran (Anglian), mierran (West Saxon) "to waste, spoil," from Proto-Germanic *marzjan (source also of Old Frisian meria, Old High German marren "to hinder, obstruct," Gothic
    arm
    [upper limb of the human body], Middle English arm, from Old English earm, from Proto-Germanic *armaz (source also of Old Saxon, Danish, Swedish, Middle Dutch, German arm, Old Norse armr, Old Frisian erm), from PIE root *ar- "to fit together" (source also of Sanskrit irmah "arm,"
    hammer
    Old English hamor "hammer," from Proto-Germanic *hamaraz (source also of Old Saxon hamur, Middle Dutch, Dutch hamer, Old High German hamar, German Hammer). The Old Norse cognate hamarr meant "stone, crag" (it's common in English place names), and suggests an original sense of the
    split
    1580s, transitive and intransitive, "cleave or rend lengthwise, divide longitudinally," not found in Middle English, probably from a Low German source such as Middle Dutch splitten, from Proto-Germanic *spleitanan (source also of Danish and Frisian splitte, Old Frisian splita, Ge
    disfigure
    late 14c., "mar the external figure of, impair the beauty, symmetry, or excellence of," also "transform the appearance of, disguise," from Old French desfigurer "disfigure, alter, disguise, destroy," from Medieval Latin diffigurare, from assimilated form of Latin dis- (see dis-)

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