pommel
Syllables: pom·mel/ˈpɒ.məl/US/ˈpɑ.məl/
pommel noun: the upper front brow of a saddle.
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Noun
pommel (plural pommels)
- The upper front brow of a saddle.
- But, if it does so sit, it is plain that the pommel must rise sufficiently to secure the withers from pressure; therefore it follows, that a horse whose withers are higher than common, (a well-built hunter for example,) requires a pommel higher by so much as he excels the generality of horses.1830, Charles Thompson, Rules for Bad Horsemen, 2nd edition
- In the shoulder saddle, pommel and cantle are inclined toward each other at the bottom and away from each other at the top.1990, Richard W. Bulliet, The Camel and the Wheel
- Either of the rounded handles on a pommel horse.
- The pommels, of which two sets must be provided, fit into these incisions.1867, Ernest George Ravenstein, The gymnasium and its fittings
- Men use the pommels on the horse for side horse competition, and remove them for long horse vaulting. Women originally used the side horse with the pommels, but later the pommels were removed.1970, Dennis Keith Stanley, Gymnastics for women
- The knob on the hilt of an edged weapon such as a sword or dagger.
- The pommel is either a cone of metal or a crutch with a whorl ending either arm.1884, Richard F[rancis] Burton, “The Sword amongst the Barbarians (Early Roman Empire)”, in The Book of the Sword, London: Chatto and Windus, […], →OCLC, page 263
- Pommel bilobed, overlaid with four acanthus leaves, and provided with small button-shaped eminences at tips of lobes and at apex.1929, Bashford Dean, Catalogue of European Daggers
- A knob forming the finial of a turret or pavilion.
- One fragment of pillar had a pommel finial with a mortise, indicating that it once held a metal object, perhaps a cross.2005, Susan T. Stevens, Bir Ftouha: a pilgrimage church complex at Carthage
- Yet each community had a turning (pommel or finial) at the top of the post whose shape distinguished it from the work of other communities. At New Lebanon, the decorative pommel varied little over the years.2010, M. Stephen Miller, Inspired Innovations: A Celebration of Shaker Ingenuity
- The bat used in the game of knurr and spell or trap ball.
- The player, armed with a pommel, stands from two to three feet from the spell, places a knur in the cup which is held down by the rack.1871, Edmund Routledge, Routledge's Every Boy's Annual
- The commonest method of playing the game, by the smaller boys of the village, was with a "sendstick," or pommel, and a wooden spell with a hole in one end to place the knur, which, when struck "tip-cat" like at the other end, threw the knur up to be struck at.1886, William Smith, Morley: Ancient and Modern
Verb
pommel (third-person singular simple present pommels, present participle (US) pommeling or (UK) pommelling, simple past and past participle (US) pommeled or (UK) pommelled)
- To pound or beat.
- The scaling him with chairs for ladders to dive into his pockets, despoil him of brown-paper parcels, hold on tight by his cravat, hug him round his neck, pommel his back, and kick his legs in irrepressible affection!1843, Charles Dickens, A Christmas Carol
- I will not say as schoolboys do to bullies—Take some one of your own size; don’t pommel me! No, ye’ve knocked me down, and I am up again; but ye have run and hidden.1851, Herman Melville, “37”, in Moby Dick
pommel meaning in Tamil and Kannada
pommel in Tamil
- மொங்கான், கலினக்கரடு
pommel in Kannada
- ಹಿಡಿಗುಂಡು, ಹಿಡಿಗುಬ್ಬಿ
Examples of pommel in a sentence
- An owner fits four fingers underneath the saddle's pommel, testing the fit of the saddle.2011, Moira C. Reeve, The Original Horse Bible:
- Jahn is credited with introducing the parallel bars, the horizontal bar, the side horse with pommels, and the vaulting buck.2003, Dale Mood, Sports and Recreational Activities:
- I began to fight him, pommeling him with my fists, screaming at him, all the while he was yelling, “Dani, it's me, Dani, it's your brother.2012, Dan Alon, Munich Memoir:
Synonyms of pommel
Forms of pommel
| Noun | |
|---|---|
| plural | pommels |
| alternative form | pummel |
| Verb | |
| third-person singular present | pommels |
| present participle US | pommeling |
| present participle UK | pommelling |
| past participle US | pommeled |
| past US | pommeled |
| past participle UK | pommelled |
| past UK | pommelled |
Origin of pommel
From Middle English pomel, from Old French pomel and Medieval Latin pomellum, pumellum, presumedly via Vulgar Latin *pomellum (“ball, knob”), the diminutive of Late Latin pōmum (“apple”). Compare French pommeau, Spanish pomo, and Swedish pumla.
Words formed from pommel
- bepommel
- pommeller
- pommeler
- pommel foot
- pommel horse
- pommel slicker
Phrases with pommel
Words that rhyme with pommel
Questions about pommel
- What does pommel mean?
- Pommel means the upper front brow of a saddle.
- What is pommel in Tamil?
- Pommel in Tamil is மொங்கான், கலினக்கரடு. See Pommel meaning in Tamil.
- How do you use pommel in a sentence?
- An owner fits four fingers underneath the saddle's pommel, testing the fit of the saddle.
- What part of speech is pommel?
- Pommel can be a noun or a verb.
- How do you pronounce pommel?
- Pommel is pronounced /ˈpɒ.məl/ (UK).
- What is the plural of pommel?
- The plural of pommel is pommels.
Words near pommel in the dictionary
Source and license
Adapted from Wiktionary: pommel (page history and authors); pommel (Tamil Wiktionary) (page history and authors); pommel (Kannada Wiktionary) (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.
Last updated:
Pronunciation audio from Wikimedia Commons, each file under its own free license: LL-Q1860 (eng)-Vealhurl-pommel.wav.
Cite this entry: “pommel.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/pommel. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.