yxa

Etymology

From Old Norse øx (“axe”), from Proto-Germanic *akwisī, from a Proto-Indo-European *h₂egʷs-ih₂- (“axe”), from *h₂eḱ- (“sharp, pointed”).

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /ʏkːsa/

Noun

yxa c

1. an axe

   Ronny högg ner ett träd med en yxa

   Ronny cut down a tree with an axe

Verb

yxa (present yxar, preterite yxade, supine yxat, imperative yxa)

1. (yxa till, yxa ihop, yxa fram) to axe, to cut, chip or sculpture with an axe, to hack, to shape roughly, to make a prototype
   • Heimskringla, part 3

     Thorberg gick fram och yxade till kanten, så att alla märkena efter yxhuggen försvunno.

     Then Thorberg went and chipped the planks until the deep notches were all smoothed and made even with the rest.

   och så yxade jag till en stuga här vid vägen.

   And so I built a log cabin here by the road.

   kommittén hade yxat till ett förslag

   the committee had hacked a rough proposal

   jag yxade till min personliga profil lite grann

   I shaped up my personal profile a bit

2. (yxa ner, yxa upp, yxa sönder, yxa bort) to slash with an axe, to reduce or remove, to attack, to criticise

   Hon har yxat ner antalet biståndsländer från 70 till 33

   She has slashed the number of countries receiving our foreign aid from 70 to 33

   yxa upp en vak

   cut a hole in the ice with an axe

References

• yxa in Svensk ordbok (SO)
• yxa in Svenska Akademiens ordlista (SAOL)
• yxa in Svenska Akademiens ordbok (SAOB)