Hyphenation
mat·tockPronunciation
Etymology
[ 'ma-t&k ] (noun.) before 12th century. From Middle English mattok (“mattock, pickaxe”), from Old English mattuc, meottoc, mettac (“mattock, fork, trident”), from Proto-Germanic *mattukaz (“mattock, ploughshare”), from Proto-Indo-European *mat- (“a hoe, ploughshare”). Related to Old High German medela (“plough”), Middle High German metze, metz (“knife”), Latin mateola (“implement for digging in the soil”), Russian мотыга (motýga, “hoe, mattock”), Sanskrit (matyà, “harrow, roller, club”). More at mason.