The Spanish verb 'machar' meaning 'to pound' or 'to hammer' comes from the Spanish noun 'macho' meaning 'hammer', combined with the common Spanish verb suffix '-ar'. The noun 'macho' itself derives from Latin 'marculus', which meant 'small hammer'. This shows a straightforward semantic development where the meaning related to hammering has remained consistent from Latin to modern Spanish.

A simpler related Spanish word is 'macho' (hammer), which is more commonly encountered than the verb form. While 'macho' is also famously known as meaning 'male' or 'masculine' in Spanish, the 'hammer' meaning of 'macho' is actually a separate word with a different etymology.

While there aren't any common English words directly related to 'machar', English speakers might find it interesting that the word 'mallet' (a type of hammer) comes from a different Latin word but serves a similar function. The Latin 'marculus' that gave us 'machar' was also a diminutive form meaning 'small hammer', similar to how a mallet is often thought of as a specific type of hammer.