pommel means the upper front brow of a saddle.
Among words judged in Lexicurio's Arena, pommel ranks #2,710 of 42,749 for Qualifying.
pommel is pronounced /ˈpɒ.məl/.
Etymology
From Middle English pomel, from Old French pomel and Medieval Latin pomellum, pumellum, presumedly via Vulgar Latin *pomellum (“ball, knob”), the diminutive of Late Latin pōmum (“apple”). Compare French pommeau, Spanish pomo, and Swedish pumla.
noun
- The upper front brow of a saddle.
- A rounded knob or handle.; Either of the rounded handles on a pommel horse.e.g.“The pommels, of which two sets must be provided, fit into these incisions.” — 1867, Ernest George Ravenstein, The gymnasium and its fittings:
- A rounded knob or handle.; The knob on the hilt of an edged weapon such as a sword or dagger.e.g.“The pommel is either a cone of metal or a crutch with a whorl ending either arm.” — 1884, Richard F[rancis] Burton, “The Sword amongst the Barbarians (Early Roman Empire)”, in The Book of the Sword, London: Chatto and Windus, […], →OCLC, page 263:
- A rounded knob or handle.; A knob forming the finial of a turret or pavilion.e.g.“One fragment of pillar had a pommel finial with a mortise, indicating that it once held a metal object, perhaps a cross.” — 2005, Susan T. Stevens, Bir Ftouha: a pilgrimage church complex at Carthage:
- The bat used in the game of knurr and spell or trap ball.e.g.“The player, armed with a pommel, stands from two to three feet from the spell, places a knur in the cup which is held down by the rack.” — 1871, Edmund Routledge, Routledge's Every Boy's Annual:
Definitions & examples from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 3.0).