An archaic or dialect term for a type of tool or a cutting implement, possibly related to a small axe or chopping tool.
Possibly from 'hack' (a cutting tool) + 'mall' or 'maul' (a heavy hammer). This obscure term reflects old English craftsperson vocabulary that has largely disappeared from modern usage.
This is the kind of word that shows how languages evolve—compound tool names like this one disappeared because the tools themselves became obsolete or got renamed, leaving us with ghost words in historical texts.
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