dagger
/ˈdaɡə
/noun
1A short knife with a pointed and edged blade, used as a weapon: he drew his dagger and stabbed the leader...
- He stared at all the weapons, swords, daggers, bows and arrows; some were even made of gold.
- Sharp weapons, including knives, daggers and spears, were seized from the 46 people.
- He was helping the council pass out swords and daggers, weapons of every kind.
1.1 Printing another term for obelus.Confusingly, the word obelus was later used for the printer's character we often call a dagger, another symbol with a point....
- A dagger above an indel symbol shows that the indel is not shared among the sequences at a given locus.
2A moth with a dark dagger-shaped marking on the forewing.
- Genus Acronicta, family Noctuidae: several species.
Phrases
be at daggers drawn
look (or glare) daggers at
Origin
Late Middle English: perhaps from obsolete dag 'pierce, stab', influenced by Old French dague 'long dagger'.