axis [LME] In Latin axis means ‘axle’ or ‘pivot’. That is really what an axis is—an imaginary line through a body, around which it rotates, rather like an invisible axle. In the Second World War the Axis was the alliance of Germany and Italy, later also including Japan and other countries, which opposed the Allies. The connection with an axis was the idea of the relations between countries forming a ‘pivot’ around which they revolved. See also evil.