curtalax

or cur·tal ax, cur·tle ax

[ kur-tl-aks ]

noun

, Archaic.

1. cutlass.

Word History and Origins

Origin of curtalax¹

1570–80; variant (by folk etymology) of earlier curtilace, apparently < dialectal Italian cortelazo, assimilated variant of Italian coltellaccio hunting knife, equivalent to coltell ( o ) (< Latin; cultellus ) + -accio noun suffix. See cutlass