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scimitar

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scim⋅i⋅tar

  [sim-i-ter]
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–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
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Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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scim·i·tar   (sĭm'ĭ-tər, -tär')   
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.]
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Word Origin & History

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.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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