'axmaking' originates from English, specifically the compound of the words 'ax' and 'making', where 'ax' meant 'a cutting tool' and 'making' comes from 'make' meaning 'to form or create'.

'ax' comes from Old English 'æx' (also seen as 'eax'), and 'make' comes from Old English 'macian' (to make). Over time, Modern English formed the compound 'axe-making' (also written 'axmaking' or 'axemaking') to refer to the craft.

Initially it meant 'the act of making an ax', and this basic meaning has remained stable into modern usage as a term for the craft or process of producing axes.