In the direction or manner of an axe; positioned along the axis or aligned with the axe's blade.
From 'axe' plus '-wise' (a suffix meaning 'in the manner of' or 'with respect to'), forming an adverb describing orientation or direction.
The suffix '-wise' is ancient but still alive—we say 'likewise' and 'clockwise' today, showing how medieval people created flexible direction-words by simply adding '-wise' to anything.
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