I.a hammer, mallet, maul.
I. Lit.: “(navis) excussa malleo,” Plaut. Men. 2, 3, 52: “malleorum rostra,” Plin. 34, 14, 41, § 144: “stuparius,” a swingle-staff, id. 19, 1, 3, § 17.—Of the maul or axe for felling animals to be sacrificed: “tempora discussit claro cava malleus ictu,” Ov. M. 2, 624: “elato alte malleo, cultrarium mactavit,” Suet. Calig. 32.—Prov.: “malleum sapientiorem vidi excusso manubrio,” the hammer wiser than the handle, Plaut. Ep. 3, 4, 87.—