the.com/polearm

means A weapon with a striking head — blade, spike, hook, or hammer — mounted on a long shaft, built to hit, stab, or yank an opponent from beyond arm's reach.

from Straightforward compound: 'pole' (a long wooden shaft, from Old English pal, itself borrowed from Latin palus, 'stake') plus 'arm' in the sense of weapon, from Latin arma. No hidden drama here — the word just describes exactly what it is, a weapon built around a stick, which is more than you can say for the people who first faced a pike formation.