Definition of "ax"

When they were come togedder, they axed off hym, sayinge: Master wilt thou at this tyme restore agayne the kyngdom of israhel?

1526, [William Tyndale, transl.], The Newe Testamẽt […] (Tyndale Bible), [Worms, Germany: Peter Schöffer], Acts ]

Dolly: And if so be, why did you ax me to keep you company? Housekeeper wants me below to pick raisins.

1836, Joanna Baillie, The Alienated Manor, act 4

Ar try who'l ax em the hardest riddle,Ar soonest vind out oone put us, true...

1879, William Barnes, “The Welshnut Tree”, in Complete Poems, volume 1, page 106

Richard Dauntless: "But, axin' your pardon, miss, might I be permitted to salute the flag I'm a-goin' to sail under?"

1887, Gilbert and Sullivan, Ruddigore, act 1

‘I axed him if he knowed the way and he said he had not fergitten the lay of the land.’

1979, Verna Mae Slone, What My Heart Wants to Tell, page 18

Wise: Your boy left here a while agoJohnson: I ain' lookin' for him. He at his granmother's. I wanted to ax you somethin'.

2006 Sept. 17, David Mills, "Soft Eyes", The Wire, 00:19:01

He's cool. Does triathlons dahn de Sahn. Don't drink. Ax me if I want a lift to de beach — he hurd it's a dahnce goin on dahn thurr.

2013 September 5, James Burton, The Bermuda Sun‎, archived from the original on 12 December 2022