pikestaff

English

Etymology

pike +‎ staff

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈpaɪkstæf/, /ˈpaɪkstɑːf/

Noun

pikestaff (plural pikestaffs or pikestaves)

1. The wooden shaft of a pike.
2. A staff with a spike in the lower end, to guard against slipping.
   • 1816, [Walter Scott], The Antiquary. […], volumes (please specify |volume=I to III), Edinburgh: […] James Ballantyne and Co. for Archibald Constable and Co.; London: Longman, Hurst, Rees, Orme, and Brown, →OCLC:

     So soon as he got into the grave, he struck his pikestaff forcibly down; it encountered resistance in its descent

Translations

shaft of a pike

• Bulgarian: дръжка на копие (drǎžka na kopie)
• Finnish: peitsen varsi

See also

• plain as a pikestaff