The expression "to be poleaxed" comes from the poleaxe (or pollaxe), a medieval weapon with an axe head and a spike, used literally to strike an animal's head (poll) or a person, and figuratively to mean being utterly stunned, shocked, or knocked senseless, as if hit by the heavy weapon.
The term gained its figurative, informal usage, meaning extreme surprise or shock, around the 1850s, derived from the literal action of felling someone with the weapon, according to the Oxford English Dictionary.
Origin Breakdown:
Poll/Pole: The "poll" refers to the head of an animal, and the "pole" is the long handle of the weapon.
Axe: The tool used for striking.
Literal Meaning: To strike someone or something (like cattle) with a poleaxe, often in the head (poll), to fell or stun them.
Figurative Meaning: To be so shocked or surprised that you are rendered helpless or speechless, just as if you were physically struck by the weapon.
So, when someone is "poleaxed," they're figuratively experiencing the same dazed, stunned state as someone literally hit by a poleaxe.
The term gained its figurative, informal usage, meaning extreme surprise or shock, around the 1850s, derived from the literal action of felling someone with the weapon, according to the Oxford English Dictionary.
Origin Breakdown:
Poll/Pole: The "poll" refers to the head of an animal, and the "pole" is the long handle of the weapon.
Axe: The tool used for striking.
Literal Meaning: To strike someone or something (like cattle) with a poleaxe, often in the head (poll), to fell or stun them.
Figurative Meaning: To be so shocked or surprised that you are rendered helpless or speechless, just as if you were physically struck by the weapon.
So, when someone is "poleaxed," they're figuratively experiencing the same dazed, stunned state as someone literally hit by a poleaxe.