Nunchaku

//nʌnˈtʃækuː// noun

noun ·Rare ·Advanced level

Definitions

Noun
  1. 1
    A weapon originating from Okinawa, Japan, consisting of two sticks joined by a chain or cord. countable
  2. 2
    The skill of using this weapon in martial arts. uncountable

Synonyms

All synonyms
chainstickschucksflailnum-chuknumchucknunchuck

Example

More examples

"The nunchaku is a traditional Japanese weapon consisting of two short sticks connected by a chain or rope."

Etymology

Borrowed from Okinawan 双節棍 (nunchaku) (compare Japanese 双節棍 (nunchaku)), probably from Hokkien 兩節棍 /两节棍 (nn̄g-chat-kùn, literally “two-segment cudgel”), from 兩 /两 (nn̄g, “two”) + 節 /节 (chat, “joint; link; segment”) + 棍 (kùn, “cudgel; stick”).

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Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.