Poniard

//ˈpɑnjɚd// noun, verb

noun, verb ·Uncommon ·Advanced level

Definitions

Noun
  1. 1
    A dagger typically having a slender square or triangular blade. historical

    "The sir King ha's wag'd with him six Barbary horses, / against the which he impon'd as I take it, sixe French / Rapiers and Poniards, with their assignes, as Girdle, / Hangers or so[…]."

  2. 2
    a dagger with a slender blade wordnet
Verb
  1. 1
    To stab with a poniard.

    "Manfred […] would have poignarded the peasant in their arms."

  2. 2
    stab with a poniard wordnet

Synonyms

All synonyms
bayonetbladebodkindaggerimpaleknife

Example

More examples

"“If you must have a weapon,” he said, “upon such a peaceful occasion, why did you not use the short poniard sent from Edinburgh on purpose?”"

Etymology

Borrowed from Middle French poignard, from poing (“fist”), from Old French poing, from Latin pugnus (“fist”).

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