mallet

Reading level: hard

Estimated CEFR level: C2 — Proficiency

Estimated from word frequency; not an official CEFR classification.

Definition

  1. noun a sports implement with a long handle and a head like a hammer; used in sports (polo or croquet) to hit a ball
  2. noun a light drumstick with a rounded head that is used to strike such percussion instruments as chimes, kettledrums, marimbas, glockenspiels, etc.
  3. noun a tool resembling a hammer but with a large head (usually wooden); used to drive wedges or ram down paving stones or for crushing or beating or flattening or smoothing

Etymology

From Middle English malet, maylet, from Old French mallet, maillet (“a wooden hammer, mallet”), diminutive of mal, mail (“a hammer”), from Latin malleus (“a hammer, mall, mallet”).

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