cutlass

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English

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Etymology

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From Middle French coutelas, from Old French coutel (knife) + -as (augmentative suffix).

Pronunciation

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  • IPA(key): /ˈkʌtləs/
  • Audio (US):(file)

Noun

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English Wikipedia has an article on:
Wikipedia

cutlass (plural cutlasses)

  1. (nautical) A short sword with a curved blade, and a convex edge; once used by sailors when boarding an enemy ship.
    • 2015 September 1, Sarah J. Maas, Queen of Shadows, →ISBN:
      She could feel Tern’s stare fixed right between her shoulder blades, and knew he was aching to plunge his cutlass there.
    • 1851 November 14, Herman Melville, chapter XII, in Moby-Dick; or, The Whale, 1st American edition, New York, N.Y.: Harper & Brothers; London: Richard Bentley, →OCLC:
      In vain the captain threatened to throw him overboard; suspended a cutlass over his naked wrists; Queequeg was the son of a King, and Queequeg budged not.
  2. A similarly shaped tool; a machete.

Synonyms

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Derived terms

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Translations

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Verb

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cutlass (third-person singular simple present cutlasses, present participle cutlassing, simple past and past participle cutlassed)

  1. (transitive) To cut back (vegetation) with a cutlass.