Helve definitions

Webster's 1828 Dictionary

HELVE, n. helv. The handle of an ax or hatchet.
HELVE, v.t. helv. To furnish with a helve, as an ax.

WordNet (r) 3.0 (2005)

n
1: the handle of a weapon or tool [syn: haft, helve]

Merriam Webster's

noun Etymology: Middle English, from Old English hielfe; probably akin to Old English helma helm Date: before 12th century a handle of a tool or weapon ; haft

Oxford Reference Dictionary

n. the handle of a weapon or a tool. Etymology: OE helfe f. WG

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Helve Helve, n. [OE. helve, helfe, AS. hielf, helf, hylf, cf. OHG. halb; and also E. halter, helm of a rudder.] 1. The handle of an ax, hatchet, or adze. 2. (Iron Working) (a) The lever at the end of which is the hammer head, in a forge hammer. (b) A forge hammer which is lifted by a cam acting on the helve between the fulcrum and the head.

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Helve Helve, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Helved; p. pr. & vb. n. Helving.] To furnish with a helve, as an ax.

International Standard Bible Encyclopedia

helv (`ets "wood," "tree"): The handle or wooden part of an ax. "The head (margin "iron") slippeth from the helve" (margin "tree," De 19:5). The marginal reading suggests that "the ax is supposed to glance off the tree it is working on."

Soule's Dictionary of English Synonyms

n. Handle (of an ax or a hatchet), haft, heft.