poleax vs ax

poleax and ax both are nouns.

Word	Noun	Adjective	Verb	Adverb
poleax	Yes	No	Yes	No
ax	Yes	No	Yes	No

As nouns, ax is a hypernym of poleax; that is, ax is a word with a broader meaning than poleax:

Other hypernyms of poleax include axe.

poleax (noun)	ax (noun)
a battle ax used in the Middle Ages; a long handled ax and a pick	an edge tool with a heavy bladed head mounted across a handle
an ax used to slaughter cattle; has a hammer opposite the blade

poleax (verb)	ax (verb)
fell with or as if with a poleax	terminate
	chop or split with an ax