Other forms: broomsticks
A broomstick is the brush a witch is said to fly on. Fly on a broomstick, a witch's broomstick, ride a broomstick.
It is the folklore image rather than a real object: a broomstick is simply a broom, and the flying is the addition. The picture is medieval and appears in trial records and woodcuts long before any children's book. Note besom, which is the traditional twig broom and the shape everybody draws; and that the broom in the name is a plant — the twigs were cut from broom bushes.
1nounbroomstickThe brush a witch is said to fly on.
“In the picture, a witch in a pointed hat flies across the moon on her broomstick.”
broomstick is a brush of legend.
From broom + stick.
Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA
Practised in Myths & Legends, Fairy Tales & Folklore