poniard

[ pon-yerd ]
See synonyms for poniard on Thesaurus.com
noun
  1. a small, slender dagger.

verb (used with object)
  1. to stab with a poniard.

Origin of poniard

1
1580–90; <French poignard, derivative of poing fist <Latin pugnus;see -ard

Words Nearby poniard

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use poniard in a sentence

  • Already her hand approached the poniard on the table, when suddenly her ear caught an unusual noise in the turret.

  • It suddenly occurred to the soldier that to kill this savage princess with one blow he must poniard her in the throat.

    A Passion in the Desert | Honore de Balzac
  • But this comes of old fashions, and of wearing a long Liddesdale whinger instead of a poniard of Parma.

    The Fortunes of Nigel | Sir Walter Scott
  • She had been protected by some (p. 140) portions of her dress which had turned the poniard aside.

    Margaret of Anjou | Jacob Abbott.
  • Sometimes she presented the poniard to one person's breast, sometimes to another's, and oftentimes seemed to strike her own.

British Dictionary definitions for poniard

poniard

/ (ˈpɒnjəd) /


noun
  1. a small dagger with a slender blade

verb
  1. (tr) to stab with a poniard

Origin of poniard

1
C16: from Old French poignard dagger, from poing fist, from Latin pugnus; related to Latin pugnāre to fight

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012