pommel

the word 'pommel' traces its lineage to the latin 'pomum', a general term for fruit, most commonly an apple. through vulgar latin, the diminutive form 'pomellum' (little apple) evolved, which was borrowed into old french as 'pomel'. this term was applied to any rounded, apple-like protuberance, such as the knob on a sword hilt or the front arch of a saddle. the english language adopted it in the 14th century, retaining the core imagery of a spherical shape while specializing its reference to specific objects. the verb sense, meaning to pummel or beat, developed later from the action of striking with the rounded end of a sword's hilt.

this word is a simplex form. it is derived from the old french 'pomel', meaning a small apple or a rounded knob, which itself came from the vulgar latin 'pomellum', a diminutive of the latin 'pomum' (fruit, apple). the core semantic link is the shared round shape.