'axmen' originates from English, specifically from the compound 'axman' (also spelled 'axeman'), where 'ax' referred to the tool 'axe' and 'man' meant 'person'.

'axman' developed in modern English as a compound of 'ax' + 'man'; 'ax' itself comes from Old English 'æx' or 'eax' and from Proto-Germanic '*akuz'. The plural form followed the irregular plural pattern of 'man' → 'men', producing 'axmen' (and variant spelling 'axemen').

Initially related to the tool 'axe' (the object), the term came to refer to a person who uses the tool; over time the compound 'axman' and its plural forms retained the sense 'person/people who use an axe' and acquired occasional figurative uses (e.g., in phrases about dismissing or attacking).