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Knife
Definitions
- 1 A utensil or a tool designed for cutting, consisting of a flat piece of hard material, usually steel or other metal (the blade), usually sharpened on one edge, attached to a handle. The blade may be pointed for piercing.
"He was looking for a knife to chop some steak."
- 2 edge tool used as a cutting instrument; has a pointed blade with a sharp edge and a handle wordnet
- 3 A weapon designed with the aforementioned specifications intended for slashing or stabbing but too short to be called a sword; a dagger.
- 4 a weapon with a handle and blade with a sharp point wordnet
- 5 Any blade-like part in a tool or a machine designed for cutting, such as that of a chipper.
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- 6 any long thin projection that is transient wordnet
- 1 To cut with a knife. transitive
- 2 use a knife on wordnet
- 3 To use a knife to injure or kill by stabbing, slashing, or otherwise using the sharp edge of the knife as a weapon. transitive
"She was repeatedly knifed in the chest."
- 4 To cut through as if with a knife. intransitive
"The boat knifed through the water."
- 5 To betray, especially in the context of a political slate. transitive
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- 6 To positively ignore, especially in order to denigrate; compare cut. transitive
Etymology
From Middle English knyf, knif, from late Old English cnīf, from Old Norse knífr, from Proto-Germanic *knībaz, from *knīpaną (“to pinch”), Proto-Indo-European *gneybʰ- (compare Lithuanian gnýbti, žnýbti (“to pinch”), gnaibis (“pinching”)). Displaced native Middle English sax (“knife”) from Old English seax; and Middle English coutel, qwetyll (“knife”) from Old French coutel. The verb knife is attested since the 1860s; the variant knive is attested since 1733. Cognates Cognate with Yola kunnife (“knife”), North Frisian knif (“knife”), Dutch knijf (“long pointy knife, poniard”), German Knifte (“rifle; thick slicebread”), German Low German Knief (“knife”), Luxembourgish Knäip (“paring knife”), Danish, Norwegian Bokmål and Norwegian Nynorsk kniv (“knife”), Faroese knívur (“knife”), Icelandic hnífur, knífur (“knife”), Swedish knif, kniv (“knife”).
From Middle English knyf, knif, from late Old English cnīf, from Old Norse knífr, from Proto-Germanic *knībaz, from *knīpaną (“to pinch”), Proto-Indo-European *gneybʰ- (compare Lithuanian gnýbti, žnýbti (“to pinch”), gnaibis (“pinching”)). Displaced native Middle English sax (“knife”) from Old English seax; and Middle English coutel, qwetyll (“knife”) from Old French coutel. The verb knife is attested since the 1860s; the variant knive is attested since 1733. Cognates Cognate with Yola kunnife (“knife”), North Frisian knif (“knife”), Dutch knijf (“long pointy knife, poniard”), German Knifte (“rifle; thick slicebread”), German Low German Knief (“knife”), Luxembourgish Knäip (“paring knife”), Danish, Norwegian Bokmål and Norwegian Nynorsk kniv (“knife”), Faroese knívur (“knife”), Icelandic hnífur, knífur (“knife”), Swedish knif, kniv (“knife”).
See also for "knife"
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