broomstick

broomstick

English

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈbɹum.stɪk/

Etymology

broom +‎ stick

Noun

broomstick (plural broomsticks)

1. the handle of a broom (sweeping tool).
2. a broom imbued with magic, enabling one to fly astride the handle.
   • 1997, Diana Wynne Jones, Witch Week‎:

     She really was a witch now. No one but a witch could fly a broomstick.

   • 1999, J. K. Rowling, Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, →ISBN:

     Harry ripped the parcel open and gasped as a magnificent, gleaming broomstick rolled out onto his bedspread. [...] It was a Firebolt, identical to the dream broom Harry had gone to see every day in Diagon Alley.

   • 2002, Terry Pratchett, Witches Abroad, page 97:

     Greebo, hiccuping occasionally, oozed into his accustomed place among the bristles of Nanny’s broomstick. As they rose above the forest a thin plume of smoke also rose from the castle.

   • 2003, David Pickering, Cassell's Dictionary of Superstitions‎:

     Most people are familiar with the age-old superstition that witches fly on broomsticks to their covens (though they were formerly also reputed to use shovels, cleft sticks, eggshells, ANIMALS and other means of flight).

Translations

the handle of a broom

Danish: kosteskaft (da) n Dutch: bezemsteel (nl) m French: manche à balai (fr) m German: Besenstiel (de) m Greek: σκουπόξυλο (el) pl (skoupóxylo)

Italian: manico di scopa m Japanese: ほうきの柄 (ほうきのえ, hōki no e) Norwegian: kosteskaft n, sopelime m Plautdietsch: Bassemstock m Tagalog: tangkay ng walis

a broom imbued with magic

Irish: scuab caillí f