pummel

Meanings

1. 1
   verb

   to hit someone or something hard and repeatedly, especially with the fists

   He wanted to pummel the bully for mocking his friend.

2. 2
   verb

   to strike or batter continuously with rain, waves, or another force

   Gale-driven rain pummeled the windows throughout the night.

3. 3
   verb

   to criticize, defeat, or overwhelm severely

   Reviewers pummeled the proposal for ignoring basic evidence.

An alteration of pommel. A pommel is the rounded knob on a sword hilt or saddle, and pommel came to mean striking with the fists as though using such a knob. The spelling pummel became standard for the repeated-blow verb.

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