Maul
/mɔːl/noun
To wound or attack by crushing, tearing, or beating; also, a heavy hammer or mallet.
Did you know?The verb and noun come from a Germanic root meaning a heavy hammer or mallet, and the same ancient family also gave English words like ‘mallet’ and ‘mail’ (as in armor) through closely related forms.
Etymological Timeline
Proto-Germanic
PGmc
*malwō- / *maljaną
“a hammering or crushing implement; to beat or bruise”
Old English
OE
mǣl / mal
“a hammer, mallet; to strike or bruise”
Middle English
ME
maulen
“to beat, bruise, or batter”
14th–15th Century
English
maul
“to strike heavily, batter, or injure with repeated blows”
Modern English
English
maul
“to attack or handle roughly; a heavy hammer or mallet”