knife

English Online Dictionary. What means knife‎? What does knife mean?

English

Alternative forms

• (noun): knyfe (obsolete)
  • (plural): knifes (nonstandard)
• (verb): knive (uncommon)

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 mid 1800s; the variant knive is attested since 1733.

Pronunciation

• (Received Pronunciation, General American) IPA^(key): /naɪf/
• (General Australian) IPA^(key): /nɑɪf/
• Rhymes: -aɪf

Noun

knife (plural knives)

2. 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.
3. A weapon designed with the aforementioned specifications intended for slashing or stabbing but too short to be called a sword; a dagger.
4. Any blade-like part in a tool or a machine designed for cutting, such as that of a chipper.

Hypernyms

• cold weapon, edged weapon, tool

Hyponyms

Coordinate terms

• (tool or weapon for cutting): awl, cake slice, cake-slice, cutting tool, rapier, sword

Derived terms

Descendants

• Sranan Tongo: nefi
• → Japanese: ナイフ
• → Korean: 나이프 (naipeu)
• → Portuguese: naifa
• → Samoan: naifi

Translations

See also

• knife on Wikipedia.Wikipedia

Verb

knife (third-person singular simple present knifes, present participle knifing, simple past and past participle knifed)

1. (transitive) To cut with a knife.
2. (transitive) To use a knife to injure or kill by stabbing, slashing, or otherwise using the sharp edge of the knife as a weapon.
3. (intransitive) To cut through as if with a knife.

4. (transitive) To betray, especially in the context of a political slate.
5. (transitive) To positively ignore, especially in order to denigrate; compare cut.

Derived terms

• knife up

Translations

References

Anagrams

• Finke

Middle English

Noun

knife

1. Alternative form of knyf