Emily Dickinson Lexicon

CUD'GEL, n. [W. cogel; from côg, a mass, lump, or short piece of wood. The Scot. cud, Teut. kodde, kudse, is a different word; dg in English being generally from g, as in pledge, bridge, alledge, &c.]

A thick stick of wood, such as may be used by the hand in beating. It differs strictly from a club, which is larger at one end than the other. It is shorter than a pole, and thicker than a rod. – Dryden. Locke. To cross the cudgels, to forbear the contest; a phrase borrowed from the practice of cudgel-players, who lay one cudgel over another. – Johnson.