axe-man, ax-
(ˈæksmæn)
[f. axe n.1 + -man.]
1. One who uses an axe in his work; a woodman.
| 1671 in Essex Inst. Hist. Coll. (1883) XX. 145 The time of meeting for ax men is to be by the sun half an hour high. 1777 Maryland Jrnl. 18 Mar. (Th.), Five hundred good carpenters, with ax-men and sawyers in proportion. 1785 A. Ellicott in C. V. Mathews Life & Lett. (1908) 45 From a Hill where our Axe-men are now Encamped we have a most beautiful Prospect. 1809 J. Barlow Columb. vi. 371 Scalpers, and ax-men rush from Erie's shore. 1878 J. Buller N. Zealand i. ii. 28 They worked as axe-men, sawyers, etc. |
2. A warrior armed with a battle-axe.
| 1828 Tytler Hist. Scot. (1864) II. 218 Every axe-man who had neither spear nor bow. |
3. A guitarist, esp. one who plays in a band or group. Cf. axe n.1 5. slang (chiefly Jazz and Rock Music).
| 1976 Evening Post (Nottingham) 15 Dec. 2/4 Guitarist Albert Lee..slotted in remarkably, swapping subtle licks and fresh ideas with Joan's regular axeman Jerry Donahue. 1977 Rolling Stone 24 Mar. 69/2 Though Beck himself adds some screaming guitar to one selection and Devadip Carlos Santana is effectively lyrical on another, axeman Ray Gomez powers four of the cuts. 1985 Washington Post 15 May b7/2 He learned guitar from Fats Domino's axeman, Walter (Papoose) Nelson. |