scimitar

Meanings

Noun

• A sword of Persian origin that features a curved blade.
• A long-handled billhook.

Verb

• To strike or slice with, or as if with, a scimitar.

Origin

• First attested in 1548.
• From Middle French cimeterre (15c.) or directly from Italian scimitarra, possibly from an unknown Ottoman Turkish word, ultimately from Persian شمشیر ("sword"). shamshir.