maul

Maul may refer to several related but distinct meanings in language and popular culture. It can describe a heavy tool, a verb, or a fictional character in the Star Wars franchise.

As a noun, a maul is a heavy hammer-like tool with a broad head and a short handle, used for tasks such as driving wedges, splitting wood, or masonry work. There are variations known as splitting mallas and mallets in different trades. As a verb, to maul means to injure by rough handling or to attack and wound someone or something, often used to describe an animal’s or a person’s aggressive actions.

Darth Maul is a prominent fictional character in the Star Wars universe. Introduced in the 1999 film The Phantom Menace, he is a Sith Lord of the Zabrak species who serves under Darth Sidious. Maul is recognizable for his red-and-black facial tattoos, horns, and his distinctive weapon—a double-bladed red lightsaber. He is portrayed as a skilled combatant and strategist, initially appearing as a relentless enforcer who battles Jedi Master Qui-Gon Jinn and Obi-Wan Kenobi. In The Phantom Menace, Maul is defeated by Obi-Wan and falls into a reactor shaft, seemingly killed, though his survival is later explored in The Clone Wars and Rebels series. In these continuities, he regenerates and continues to oppose the Jedi and the Galactic Republic, ultimately becoming a leader of criminal and insurgent efforts, including his involvement with the Crimson Dawn syndicate in other media.

Maul thus encompasses both a traditional tool and a term for violent action, as well as a major figure in Star Wars lore.