Scimitar - Definitions from Dictionary.com

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Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1) - Cite This Source - Share This

scim·i·tar

Audio Help [sim-i-ter] Pronunciation Key

–noun

a curved, single-edged sword of Oriental origin.

Also, scim·i·ter, simitar.

[Origin: 1540–50; < It scimitarra, ult. < Pers

]

—Related forms

scim·i·tared, adjective

Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1)
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2006.

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Scimitar

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American Heritage Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This

scim·i·tar Audio Help (sĭm'ĭ-tər, -tär') Pronunciation Key
n. A curved Asian sword with the edge on the convex side.

[French cimeterre and Italian scimitarra, both perhaps ultimately from Persian šamšīr, šimšīr, from Middle Persian šafšēr, šifšēr.]

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The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
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Online Etymology Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This
scimitar

1548, from M.Fr. cimeterre (15c.) or It. scimitarra, of uncertain origin. Turkish would be the expected source, but no such word has been found there. Perhaps from Pers. shimshir (pronounced "shamsher," cf. Gk. sampsera "a barbarian sword," from this source), but OED finds this "unsatisfactory as to form." Many early variations; the modern spelling is from influence of the It. form of the word.

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