poleaxe
verb (British English)(US English usually poleax)
- poleaxe somebody
to hit somebody very hard so that they fall down and cannot stand up again 打垮；击倒 - [usually passive] poleaxe somebody
to surprise or shock you so much that you do not know what to say or do 使惊慌失措；使手足无措
Word OriginMiddle English: related to Middle Dutch pol(l)aex, Middle Low German pol(l)exe (see poll, axe). The change in the first syllable was due to association with pole ‘long piece of word or metal’; the first element poll- may have referred to a special head of the axe or to the head of an enemy.