shillelagh

shillelagh (shuh-LAY-lee) - n., a hardwood cudgel (traditionally made from blackthorn) ending with a large knob; an cudgel (even if not Irish).


That last caveat because it's originally an Irish thing. The name's from Irish, too, from sail éille, literally thonged cudgel, altered to match the name of the village of Shillelagh (from Irish Síol Éalaigh, “descendants of Éalach”) which had a oak forest useful for making shillelaghs:


Thanks, WikiMedia!

---L.