dirk
1 Americannoun
verb (used with object)
noun
noun
verb
Etymology
Origin of dirk
1595–1605; originally Scots; of obscure etymology
Explanation
A dirk is a knife that was traditionally carried by Scottish Highland soldiers. A dirk is known as a thrusting or stabbing dagger. Though it's not common to hear the word dirk these days, the weapon was frequently carried by naval officers during the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries. As recently as World War Two, members of the Japanese navy used dirks in hand-to-hand combat. The word is associated with Scotland, although its precise origin is a little murky — it was originally spelled dork or durk, possibly from the Dutch dolk by way of the German dolch, or "dagger."
Vocabulary lists containing dirk
Life on the Mississippi
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A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court
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True Grit
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
The Russian leader was also said to have given Mr Kim a tea set and an admiral’s dirk – a dagger.
From BBC • Jun. 19, 2024
Prosecutors noted that the knife doesn’t qualify as a dirk or dagger under state law because it was a folding knife in a retracted position.
From Los Angeles Times • May 6, 2022
Author Bullen was firstmate of many a sperm-whale Mutinies, dirk play and shipwreck engross the Cachalot's log around the world.*
From Time Magazine Archive
Around his waist was a broad black and silver sash from which hung a red leather holster and a golden dirk of honor.
From Time Magazine Archive
He wore a leather jerkin sewn with overlapping iron disks, and carried a dirk in one hand and an axe strapped to his back.
From "A Clash of Kings" by George R.R. Martin
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
