Pommel
/ˈpʌm.əl/noun
A knob or rounded top, especially on a sword hilt or saddle.
Did you know?Pommel comes from Old French *pomel*, a diminutive of *pome* (“apple”), from Latin *pomum*—showing how a weapon’s grip was named for a fruit-shaped knob.
Etymological Timeline
Proto-Indo-European
PIE
*peh₂-
“to produce, give food; fruit, produce”
Latin
Latin
pomum
“fruit, apple”
Late Latin
Latin
pomellum
“small apple; rounded knob”
Old French
Old French
pomel
“small knob; rounded top”
Middle English
English
pomel
“the knob on a sword hilt or saddle”
Modern English
English
pommel
“the rounded knob on a sword hilt, saddle, or similar object”
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