"sgian dubh" meaning in English

See sgian dubh in All languages combined, or Wiktionary

Noun

IPA: /skiː.ənˈduː/ [Received-Pronunciation], /ski.ənˈdu/ [General-American] Audio: LL-Q1860 (eng)-Vealhurl-sgian-dubh.wav [Southern-England] Forms: sgian dubhs [plural], sgians dubh [plural], sgianan dubha [plural, rare]
Rhymes: -uː Etymology: Borrowed from Scottish Gaelic sgian-dubh: sgian (“knife”) (ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *sek- (“to cut; to cut off, sever”)) + dubh (“black; (figurative) hidden”) (ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *dʰewbʰ- (“deep”)). The plural form sgianan dubha is also borrowed from Scottish Gaelic. Etymology templates: {{root|en|ine-pro|*sek-|*dʰewbʰ-}} [Template:root], {{bor|en|gd|sgian-dubh}} Scottish Gaelic sgian-dubh, {{m|gd|sgian|t=knife}} sgian (“knife”), {{der|en|ine-pro|*sek-|t=to cut; to cut off, sever}} Proto-Indo-European *sek- (“to cut; to cut off, sever”), {{m|gd|dubh|t=black; (figurative) hidden}} dubh (“black; (figurative) hidden”), {{der|en|ine-pro|*dʰewbʰ-|t=deep}} Proto-Indo-European *dʰewbʰ- (“deep”), {{glossary|plural}} plural, {{m|en|sgianan dubha}} sgianan dubha Head templates: {{en-noun|+|sgians dubh|sgianan dubha|nolinkhead=1|pl3qual=rare}} sgian dubh (plural sgian dubhs or sgians dubh or (rare) sgianan dubha)
  1. (Scotland) A small, single-edged knife worn tucked into the hose (stocking) as part of traditional Scottish Highland dress along with the kilt. Wikipedia link: sgian dubh Tags: Scotland Categories (topical): Weapons Synonyms: sgian-dubh, skean dhu, skean-dhu, skene dhu, skene-dhu, skhian-dhu Related terms: skean, skene Translations (small, single-edged knife worn as part of traditional Scottish Highland dress): скин ду (english: skin du) (Russian), sgian-dubh [feminine] (Scottish Gaelic)

Inflected forms

Alternative forms

Download JSON data for sgian dubh meaning in English (12.8kB)

{
  "etymology_templates": [
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "ine-pro",
        "3": "*sek-",
        "4": "*dʰewbʰ-"
      },
      "expansion": "[Template:root]",
      "name": "root"
    },
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "gd",
        "3": "sgian-dubh"
      },
      "expansion": "Scottish Gaelic sgian-dubh",
      "name": "bor"
    },
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "gd",
        "2": "sgian",
        "t": "knife"
      },
      "expansion": "sgian (“knife”)",
      "name": "m"
    },
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "ine-pro",
        "3": "*sek-",
        "t": "to cut; to cut off, sever"
      },
      "expansion": "Proto-Indo-European *sek- (“to cut; to cut off, sever”)",
      "name": "der"
    },
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "gd",
        "2": "dubh",
        "t": "black; (figurative) hidden"
      },
      "expansion": "dubh (“black; (figurative) hidden”)",
      "name": "m"
    },
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "ine-pro",
        "3": "*dʰewbʰ-",
        "t": "deep"
      },
      "expansion": "Proto-Indo-European *dʰewbʰ- (“deep”)",
      "name": "der"
    },
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "plural"
      },
      "expansion": "plural",
      "name": "glossary"
    },
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "sgianan dubha"
      },
      "expansion": "sgianan dubha",
      "name": "m"
    }
  ],
  "etymology_text": "Borrowed from Scottish Gaelic sgian-dubh: sgian (“knife”) (ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *sek- (“to cut; to cut off, sever”)) + dubh (“black; (figurative) hidden”) (ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *dʰewbʰ- (“deep”)).\nThe plural form sgianan dubha is also borrowed from Scottish Gaelic.",
  "forms": [
    {
      "form": "sgian dubhs",
      "tags": [
        "plural"
      ]
    },
    {
      "form": "sgians dubh",
      "tags": [
        "plural"
      ]
    },
    {
      "form": "sgianan dubha",
      "tags": [
        "plural",
        "rare"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "head_templates": [
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "+",
        "2": "sgians dubh",
        "3": "sgianan dubha",
        "nolinkhead": "1",
        "pl3qual": "rare"
      },
      "expansion": "sgian dubh (plural sgian dubhs or sgians dubh or (rare) sgianan dubha)",
      "name": "en-noun"
    }
  ],
  "hyphenation": [
    "sgi‧an"
  ],
  "lang": "English",
  "lang_code": "en",
  "pos": "noun",
  "senses": [
    {
      "categories": [
        {
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "English entries with topic categories using raw markup",
          "parents": [
            "Entries with topic categories using raw markup",
            "Entry maintenance"
          ],
          "source": "w"
        },
        {
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "English terms with non-redundant non-automated sortkeys",
          "parents": [
            "Terms with non-redundant non-automated sortkeys",
            "Entry maintenance"
          ],
          "source": "w"
        },
        {
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Scottish English",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w"
        },
        {
          "kind": "topical",
          "langcode": "en",
          "name": "Weapons",
          "orig": "en:Weapons",
          "parents": [
            "Hunting",
            "Military",
            "Tools",
            "Human activity",
            "Society",
            "Technology",
            "Human behaviour",
            "All topics",
            "Human",
            "Fundamental"
          ],
          "source": "w"
        }
      ],
      "examples": [
        {
          "ref": "1831, Andrew Picken, “The Deer-stalkers of Glenskiach. A Highland Legend.”, in [Andrew Picken], editor, The Club-book: Being Original Tales, &c. […] (Harper’s Library of Select Novels; XIV), Harper’s stereotype edition, volume II, New York, N.Y.: […] J[ames] & J[ohn] Harper; […], →OCLC, chapter IX, page 133",
          "text": "In another moment claymores and skene-dhus gleamed in the grasp of several uplifted hands; [...]",
          "type": "quotation"
        },
        {
          "ref": "1839, [George Robert Gleig], “Legends of the Lochs and Glens. No. I.—The Linn of the Caldron.”, in Bentley’s Miscellany, volume V, London: Richard Bentley, […], →OCLC, page 411",
          "text": "The hasps, which were evidently intended to be secured by padlocks, had lost their fastenings, which were supplied by two skean-dhus—the small dagger of the Highlander—which had been thrust through the iron loops, and kept the casket perfectly water-tight.",
          "type": "quotation"
        },
        {
          "ref": "[1857, Standish Hayes O’Grady, editor, Toruigheacht Dhiarmuda agus Ghrainne; or, The Pursuit after Diarmuid O’Duibhne, and Grainne the Daughter of Cormac mac Airt, King of Ireland in the Third Century (Transactions of the Ossianic Society for the Year 1855; III), Dublin: […] [F]or the Ossianic Society, by John O’Daly, […], →OCLC, footnote 3, pages 97–98",
          "text": "The word sgian now means any kind of knife, but formerly denoted the peculiar dirk which was one of the weapons of the Irish. It was frequently called sgian dubh, i.e. black knife, either from the usual colour of the haft, or from the fatal blow which it so often dealt.]",
          "type": "quotation"
        },
        {
          "ref": "1866, P. Dun, “The Earl’s Niece”, in Summer at the Lake of Monteith, Glasgow: […] James Hedderwick & Son […], →OCLC, page 41",
          "text": "In his hand was a long, sharp-pointed \"sgian-dubh,\" the cherished gift of his father, the plaything of his early youth, and the trusty companion of his manhood and riper years.",
          "type": "quotation"
        },
        {
          "ref": "1871, Henry Kingsley, chapter XVI, in Old Margaret. […], volume II, London: Tinsley Brothers, […], →OCLC, page 236",
          "text": "\"Will you give me his name?\" said Macgregor, \"for we have skene dhus in this country.\" / \"His name is John Van Eyck,\" said Van Dysart; \"but as you are never likely to meet him, you can keep your skene dhu in your stocking.\"",
          "type": "quotation"
        },
        {
          "ref": "1874 March, Archibald Forbes, “The Inverness Character Fair”, in The Gentleman’s Magazine, volume XII (New Series), London: Grant & Co., […], →OCLC, page 325",
          "text": "It strikes me that quite three-fourths of the shops of Inverness are devoted to the sale of articles of Highland costume. Their fronts are hidden by hangings of tartan cloth; the windows are decked with sporrans, dirks, cairngorm plaid-brooches, ram's head snuff[-]boxes, bullocks' horns and skean dhus.",
          "type": "quotation"
        },
        {
          "ref": "1890 October, A. P. Skene, “Notes on the Origin of the Name, Family, and Arms of Skene”, in Scottish Notes and Queries, volume V, number 5, Aberdeen, Aberdeenshire: D. Wyllie & Son, […], published 1891, →OCLC, section III (Origin of the Arms (continued)), page 86, column 1",
          "text": "When I first saw engravings of these seals, I took Patrick's to bear the Skene coat, as always known since—three skenes, points upwards, bearing three wolves' heads. The blades show but little, but this could well be, even with skenes dhu, if they were pushed right up to the skull: the heads, however, are far too small.",
          "type": "quotation"
        },
        {
          "ref": "1908, Frank Adam, “The Highland Garb”, in The Clans, Septs & Regiments of the Scottish Highlands, Edinburgh, London: W. & A. K. Johnston, →OCLC, page 215",
          "text": "In the simplest form the Highland dress consists of brògs, hose (plain knitted), garters, feilebeg or little kilt, jacket, waistcoat, bonnet with sporran (animal or leather), and sgian du. [...] The sgian du is worn in the stocking, on the outer part of the right leg, in a hollow between two bones.",
          "type": "quotation"
        },
        {
          "ref": "1931, Francis M. Kelly, Randolph Schwabe, “‘Mixed’ Armour (Late)”, in A Short History of Costume & Armour, Mineola, N.Y.: Dover Publications, published 2002, part II (Armour), pages 67–68",
          "text": "It is to be noted that the Dagger does not become a regular feature of knightly accoutrement till the middle of the fourteenth century. [...] A very usual form, both in military and civilian circles, was the Ballok Knife (moderns term it a \"kidney dagger\"), a type that persisted till the sixteenth century, and whose modern analogue is the Highland dirk (skean-dhu).",
          "type": "quotation"
        },
        {
          "ref": "1941 September, Pat Dwyer, “The Adventures of Bill”, in Frank G. Steinebach, editor, The Foundry, volume 69, number 9, Cleveland, Oh.: The Penton Publishing Co., →OCLC, page 78, column 1",
          "text": "The smith can take a hunk of metal and hammer it out to the desired shape. He can see the result of every hammer stroke. He knows before the job is finished whether the skull cracker, the skean dhu or stingaree is going to serve its purpose in a private or public bickering, or merely is a piece of scrap to be hidden in the clinkers, cinders and junk pile back of the forge or under the bellows.",
          "type": "quotation"
        },
        {
          "ref": "1980, Geddes MacGregor, “Kilt, Clan, Tartan, and Bagpipe”, in Scotland: An Intimate Portrait, Boston, Mass.: Houghton Mifflin Company, published 1990, page 40",
          "text": "In the stocking should be worn a sgian dubh, on the outer part of the right leg. The sgian dubh is a knife in a simple sheath.",
          "type": "quotation"
        },
        {
          "ref": "2005, Philip Zaleski, Carol Zaleski, “Prayer and Tradition”, in Prayer: A History, Boston, Mass.: Houghton Mifflin Company, page 233",
          "text": "For nearly half a century this gentle Scottish scholar [Alexander Carmichael] crisscrossed the meadows and moors, mountains and islands of northern Scotland, clad in full Highlands regalia, with kilt, sporran, and sgian dubh (dagger), a walking stick in his right hand and a notebook in his left, sleeping under the stars or in rude shepherds' huts, knocking at a cottage here and a manor house there, and courteously begging, when the door cracked open, for a chance to explain his quest. His mission was to seek out, collect, and preserve the vanishing Gaelic folklore—hymns and tales, incantations, and curses, and above all, prayers—of this remote Highlands region, where the corrosive culture of modernity had not yet won the day.",
          "type": "quotation"
        },
        {
          "ref": "2011, John Elliston, Kent Priestley, updated and revised by Constance E. Richards, “The Mountains”, in North Carolina Curiosities: Quirky Characters, Roadside Oddities & Other Offbeat Stuff, 4th edition, Guilford, Conn.: Morris Book Publishing, page 55",
          "text": "The gift store sells everything to help accessorize your kilt, from sporrans (leather pouches) and sgians dubh (daggers) to special socks and shoes.",
          "type": "quotation"
        },
        {
          "ref": "2012 January 3, C. R. Jahn, “The Subtle Blade”, in FTW Self Defense, Bloomington, Ind.: iUniverse, page 133",
          "text": "If you do not care if your knife appears a bit weaponlike, go for a sgian dubh style blade, but be sure to pick out a good one as most eBay sgian dubhs are practically nonfunctional replicas.",
          "type": "quotation"
        },
        {
          "ref": "2012 March, William W[allace] Johnstone, with J. A. Johnstone, chapter 14, in The Killing (MacCallister: The Eagles Legacy), New York, N.Y.: Pinnacle Books, Kensington Publishing Corp., page 166",
          "text": "[H]e had a complete Black Watch uniform, which consisted of [...] a kilt of blue and green tartan, a black waistcoat, an embossed leather sporran which he wore around his waist, knee-high stockings, and the sgian dubh, or ceremonial knife tucked into the right kilt stocking, with only the pommel visible.",
          "type": "quotation"
        },
        {
          "ref": "2015, Charlena Miller, chapter 16, in What Lies Between, Portland, Or.: Red Bicycle Press",
          "text": "The sgian dubhs tucked into the top of the men's socks caught my fancy. Could those tiny knives cut someone or were they only decorative? Had anyone ever pulled out a sgian dubh at a Burns Night celebration and used it on a guest?",
          "type": "quotation"
        },
        {
          "ref": "2016, Angela Quarles, chapter 3, in Must Love Kilts: A Time Travel Romance (Must Love Series; book 3), [U.S.A.]: Unsealed Room Press",
          "text": "The others in the patrol grunted, turning back to cooking their food, sharpening their sgianan dubha, or scratching their wee balls.",
          "type": "quotation"
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "A small, single-edged knife worn tucked into the hose (stocking) as part of traditional Scottish Highland dress along with the kilt."
      ],
      "id": "en-sgian_dubh-en-noun-0POaBmZw",
      "links": [
        [
          "small",
          "small"
        ],
        [
          "single",
          "single#Adjective"
        ],
        [
          "edged",
          "edged#Adjective"
        ],
        [
          "knife",
          "knife#Noun"
        ],
        [
          "worn",
          "wear#Verb"
        ],
        [
          "tucked",
          "tuck#Verb"
        ],
        [
          "hose",
          "hose#Noun"
        ],
        [
          "stocking",
          "stocking#Noun"
        ],
        [
          "part",
          "part#Noun"
        ],
        [
          "traditional",
          "traditional"
        ],
        [
          "Scottish",
          "Scottish#Adjective"
        ],
        [
          "Highland",
          "Highland"
        ],
        [
          "dress",
          "dress#Noun"
        ],
        [
          "kilt",
          "kilt#Noun"
        ]
      ],
      "raw_glosses": [
        "(Scotland) A small, single-edged knife worn tucked into the hose (stocking) as part of traditional Scottish Highland dress along with the kilt."
      ],
      "related": [
        {
          "word": "skean"
        },
        {
          "word": "skene"
        }
      ],
      "synonyms": [
        {
          "word": "sgian-dubh"
        },
        {
          "word": "skean dhu"
        },
        {
          "word": "skean-dhu"
        },
        {
          "word": "skene dhu"
        },
        {
          "word": "skene-dhu"
        },
        {
          "word": "skhian-dhu"
        }
      ],
      "tags": [
        "Scotland"
      ],
      "translations": [
        {
          "code": "ru",
          "english": "skin du",
          "lang": "Russian",
          "sense": "small, single-edged knife worn as part of traditional Scottish Highland dress",
          "word": "скин ду"
        },
        {
          "code": "gd",
          "lang": "Scottish Gaelic",
          "sense": "small, single-edged knife worn as part of traditional Scottish Highland dress",
          "tags": [
            "feminine"
          ],
          "word": "sgian-dubh"
        }
      ],
      "wikipedia": [
        "sgian dubh"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "sounds": [
    {
      "ipa": "/skiː.ənˈduː/",
      "tags": [
        "Received-Pronunciation"
      ]
    },
    {
      "ipa": "/ski.ənˈdu/",
      "tags": [
        "General-American"
      ]
    },
    {
      "rhymes": "-uː"
    },
    {
      "audio": "LL-Q1860 (eng)-Vealhurl-sgian-dubh.wav",
      "mp3_url": "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/transcoded/8/82/LL-Q1860_%28eng%29-Vealhurl-sgian-dubh.wav/LL-Q1860_%28eng%29-Vealhurl-sgian-dubh.wav.mp3",
      "ogg_url": "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/transcoded/8/82/LL-Q1860_%28eng%29-Vealhurl-sgian-dubh.wav/LL-Q1860_%28eng%29-Vealhurl-sgian-dubh.wav.ogg",
      "tags": [
        "Southern-England"
      ],
      "text": "Audio (Southern England)"
    }
  ],
  "word": "sgian dubh"
}
{
  "etymology_templates": [
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "ine-pro",
        "3": "*sek-",
        "4": "*dʰewbʰ-"
      },
      "expansion": "[Template:root]",
      "name": "root"
    },
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "gd",
        "3": "sgian-dubh"
      },
      "expansion": "Scottish Gaelic sgian-dubh",
      "name": "bor"
    },
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "gd",
        "2": "sgian",
        "t": "knife"
      },
      "expansion": "sgian (“knife”)",
      "name": "m"
    },
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "ine-pro",
        "3": "*sek-",
        "t": "to cut; to cut off, sever"
      },
      "expansion": "Proto-Indo-European *sek- (“to cut; to cut off, sever”)",
      "name": "der"
    },
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "gd",
        "2": "dubh",
        "t": "black; (figurative) hidden"
      },
      "expansion": "dubh (“black; (figurative) hidden”)",
      "name": "m"
    },
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "ine-pro",
        "3": "*dʰewbʰ-",
        "t": "deep"
      },
      "expansion": "Proto-Indo-European *dʰewbʰ- (“deep”)",
      "name": "der"
    },
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "plural"
      },
      "expansion": "plural",
      "name": "glossary"
    },
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "sgianan dubha"
      },
      "expansion": "sgianan dubha",
      "name": "m"
    }
  ],
  "etymology_text": "Borrowed from Scottish Gaelic sgian-dubh: sgian (“knife”) (ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *sek- (“to cut; to cut off, sever”)) + dubh (“black; (figurative) hidden”) (ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *dʰewbʰ- (“deep”)).\nThe plural form sgianan dubha is also borrowed from Scottish Gaelic.",
  "forms": [
    {
      "form": "sgian dubhs",
      "tags": [
        "plural"
      ]
    },
    {
      "form": "sgians dubh",
      "tags": [
        "plural"
      ]
    },
    {
      "form": "sgianan dubha",
      "tags": [
        "plural",
        "rare"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "head_templates": [
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "+",
        "2": "sgians dubh",
        "3": "sgianan dubha",
        "nolinkhead": "1",
        "pl3qual": "rare"
      },
      "expansion": "sgian dubh (plural sgian dubhs or sgians dubh or (rare) sgianan dubha)",
      "name": "en-noun"
    }
  ],
  "hyphenation": [
    "sgi‧an"
  ],
  "lang": "English",
  "lang_code": "en",
  "pos": "noun",
  "related": [
    {
      "word": "skean"
    },
    {
      "word": "skene"
    }
  ],
  "senses": [
    {
      "categories": [
        "English countable nouns",
        "English entries with topic categories using raw markup",
        "English lemmas",
        "English multiword terms",
        "English nouns",
        "English terms borrowed from Scottish Gaelic",
        "English terms derived from Proto-Indo-European",
        "English terms derived from Scottish Gaelic",
        "English terms derived from the Proto-Indo-European root *dʰewbʰ-",
        "English terms derived from the Proto-Indo-European root *sek-",
        "English terms with IPA pronunciation",
        "English terms with audio links",
        "English terms with non-redundant non-automated sortkeys",
        "English terms with quotations",
        "Rhymes:English/uː",
        "Rhymes:English/uː/3 syllables",
        "Scottish English",
        "en:Weapons"
      ],
      "examples": [
        {
          "ref": "1831, Andrew Picken, “The Deer-stalkers of Glenskiach. A Highland Legend.”, in [Andrew Picken], editor, The Club-book: Being Original Tales, &c. […] (Harper’s Library of Select Novels; XIV), Harper’s stereotype edition, volume II, New York, N.Y.: […] J[ames] & J[ohn] Harper; […], →OCLC, chapter IX, page 133",
          "text": "In another moment claymores and skene-dhus gleamed in the grasp of several uplifted hands; [...]",
          "type": "quotation"
        },
        {
          "ref": "1839, [George Robert Gleig], “Legends of the Lochs and Glens. No. I.—The Linn of the Caldron.”, in Bentley’s Miscellany, volume V, London: Richard Bentley, […], →OCLC, page 411",
          "text": "The hasps, which were evidently intended to be secured by padlocks, had lost their fastenings, which were supplied by two skean-dhus—the small dagger of the Highlander—which had been thrust through the iron loops, and kept the casket perfectly water-tight.",
          "type": "quotation"
        },
        {
          "ref": "[1857, Standish Hayes O’Grady, editor, Toruigheacht Dhiarmuda agus Ghrainne; or, The Pursuit after Diarmuid O’Duibhne, and Grainne the Daughter of Cormac mac Airt, King of Ireland in the Third Century (Transactions of the Ossianic Society for the Year 1855; III), Dublin: […] [F]or the Ossianic Society, by John O’Daly, […], →OCLC, footnote 3, pages 97–98",
          "text": "The word sgian now means any kind of knife, but formerly denoted the peculiar dirk which was one of the weapons of the Irish. It was frequently called sgian dubh, i.e. black knife, either from the usual colour of the haft, or from the fatal blow which it so often dealt.]",
          "type": "quotation"
        },
        {
          "ref": "1866, P. Dun, “The Earl’s Niece”, in Summer at the Lake of Monteith, Glasgow: […] James Hedderwick & Son […], →OCLC, page 41",
          "text": "In his hand was a long, sharp-pointed \"sgian-dubh,\" the cherished gift of his father, the plaything of his early youth, and the trusty companion of his manhood and riper years.",
          "type": "quotation"
        },
        {
          "ref": "1871, Henry Kingsley, chapter XVI, in Old Margaret. […], volume II, London: Tinsley Brothers, […], →OCLC, page 236",
          "text": "\"Will you give me his name?\" said Macgregor, \"for we have skene dhus in this country.\" / \"His name is John Van Eyck,\" said Van Dysart; \"but as you are never likely to meet him, you can keep your skene dhu in your stocking.\"",
          "type": "quotation"
        },
        {
          "ref": "1874 March, Archibald Forbes, “The Inverness Character Fair”, in The Gentleman’s Magazine, volume XII (New Series), London: Grant & Co., […], →OCLC, page 325",
          "text": "It strikes me that quite three-fourths of the shops of Inverness are devoted to the sale of articles of Highland costume. Their fronts are hidden by hangings of tartan cloth; the windows are decked with sporrans, dirks, cairngorm plaid-brooches, ram's head snuff[-]boxes, bullocks' horns and skean dhus.",
          "type": "quotation"
        },
        {
          "ref": "1890 October, A. P. Skene, “Notes on the Origin of the Name, Family, and Arms of Skene”, in Scottish Notes and Queries, volume V, number 5, Aberdeen, Aberdeenshire: D. Wyllie & Son, […], published 1891, →OCLC, section III (Origin of the Arms (continued)), page 86, column 1",
          "text": "When I first saw engravings of these seals, I took Patrick's to bear the Skene coat, as always known since—three skenes, points upwards, bearing three wolves' heads. The blades show but little, but this could well be, even with skenes dhu, if they were pushed right up to the skull: the heads, however, are far too small.",
          "type": "quotation"
        },
        {
          "ref": "1908, Frank Adam, “The Highland Garb”, in The Clans, Septs & Regiments of the Scottish Highlands, Edinburgh, London: W. & A. K. Johnston, →OCLC, page 215",
          "text": "In the simplest form the Highland dress consists of brògs, hose (plain knitted), garters, feilebeg or little kilt, jacket, waistcoat, bonnet with sporran (animal or leather), and sgian du. [...] The sgian du is worn in the stocking, on the outer part of the right leg, in a hollow between two bones.",
          "type": "quotation"
        },
        {
          "ref": "1931, Francis M. Kelly, Randolph Schwabe, “‘Mixed’ Armour (Late)”, in A Short History of Costume & Armour, Mineola, N.Y.: Dover Publications, published 2002, part II (Armour), pages 67–68",
          "text": "It is to be noted that the Dagger does not become a regular feature of knightly accoutrement till the middle of the fourteenth century. [...] A very usual form, both in military and civilian circles, was the Ballok Knife (moderns term it a \"kidney dagger\"), a type that persisted till the sixteenth century, and whose modern analogue is the Highland dirk (skean-dhu).",
          "type": "quotation"
        },
        {
          "ref": "1941 September, Pat Dwyer, “The Adventures of Bill”, in Frank G. Steinebach, editor, The Foundry, volume 69, number 9, Cleveland, Oh.: The Penton Publishing Co., →OCLC, page 78, column 1",
          "text": "The smith can take a hunk of metal and hammer it out to the desired shape. He can see the result of every hammer stroke. He knows before the job is finished whether the skull cracker, the skean dhu or stingaree is going to serve its purpose in a private or public bickering, or merely is a piece of scrap to be hidden in the clinkers, cinders and junk pile back of the forge or under the bellows.",
          "type": "quotation"
        },
        {
          "ref": "1980, Geddes MacGregor, “Kilt, Clan, Tartan, and Bagpipe”, in Scotland: An Intimate Portrait, Boston, Mass.: Houghton Mifflin Company, published 1990, page 40",
          "text": "In the stocking should be worn a sgian dubh, on the outer part of the right leg. The sgian dubh is a knife in a simple sheath.",
          "type": "quotation"
        },
        {
          "ref": "2005, Philip Zaleski, Carol Zaleski, “Prayer and Tradition”, in Prayer: A History, Boston, Mass.: Houghton Mifflin Company, page 233",
          "text": "For nearly half a century this gentle Scottish scholar [Alexander Carmichael] crisscrossed the meadows and moors, mountains and islands of northern Scotland, clad in full Highlands regalia, with kilt, sporran, and sgian dubh (dagger), a walking stick in his right hand and a notebook in his left, sleeping under the stars or in rude shepherds' huts, knocking at a cottage here and a manor house there, and courteously begging, when the door cracked open, for a chance to explain his quest. His mission was to seek out, collect, and preserve the vanishing Gaelic folklore—hymns and tales, incantations, and curses, and above all, prayers—of this remote Highlands region, where the corrosive culture of modernity had not yet won the day.",
          "type": "quotation"
        },
        {
          "ref": "2011, John Elliston, Kent Priestley, updated and revised by Constance E. Richards, “The Mountains”, in North Carolina Curiosities: Quirky Characters, Roadside Oddities & Other Offbeat Stuff, 4th edition, Guilford, Conn.: Morris Book Publishing, page 55",
          "text": "The gift store sells everything to help accessorize your kilt, from sporrans (leather pouches) and sgians dubh (daggers) to special socks and shoes.",
          "type": "quotation"
        },
        {
          "ref": "2012 January 3, C. R. Jahn, “The Subtle Blade”, in FTW Self Defense, Bloomington, Ind.: iUniverse, page 133",
          "text": "If you do not care if your knife appears a bit weaponlike, go for a sgian dubh style blade, but be sure to pick out a good one as most eBay sgian dubhs are practically nonfunctional replicas.",
          "type": "quotation"
        },
        {
          "ref": "2012 March, William W[allace] Johnstone, with J. A. Johnstone, chapter 14, in The Killing (MacCallister: The Eagles Legacy), New York, N.Y.: Pinnacle Books, Kensington Publishing Corp., page 166",
          "text": "[H]e had a complete Black Watch uniform, which consisted of [...] a kilt of blue and green tartan, a black waistcoat, an embossed leather sporran which he wore around his waist, knee-high stockings, and the sgian dubh, or ceremonial knife tucked into the right kilt stocking, with only the pommel visible.",
          "type": "quotation"
        },
        {
          "ref": "2015, Charlena Miller, chapter 16, in What Lies Between, Portland, Or.: Red Bicycle Press",
          "text": "The sgian dubhs tucked into the top of the men's socks caught my fancy. Could those tiny knives cut someone or were they only decorative? Had anyone ever pulled out a sgian dubh at a Burns Night celebration and used it on a guest?",
          "type": "quotation"
        },
        {
          "ref": "2016, Angela Quarles, chapter 3, in Must Love Kilts: A Time Travel Romance (Must Love Series; book 3), [U.S.A.]: Unsealed Room Press",
          "text": "The others in the patrol grunted, turning back to cooking their food, sharpening their sgianan dubha, or scratching their wee balls.",
          "type": "quotation"
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "A small, single-edged knife worn tucked into the hose (stocking) as part of traditional Scottish Highland dress along with the kilt."
      ],
      "links": [
        [
          "small",
          "small"
        ],
        [
          "single",
          "single#Adjective"
        ],
        [
          "edged",
          "edged#Adjective"
        ],
        [
          "knife",
          "knife#Noun"
        ],
        [
          "worn",
          "wear#Verb"
        ],
        [
          "tucked",
          "tuck#Verb"
        ],
        [
          "hose",
          "hose#Noun"
        ],
        [
          "stocking",
          "stocking#Noun"
        ],
        [
          "part",
          "part#Noun"
        ],
        [
          "traditional",
          "traditional"
        ],
        [
          "Scottish",
          "Scottish#Adjective"
        ],
        [
          "Highland",
          "Highland"
        ],
        [
          "dress",
          "dress#Noun"
        ],
        [
          "kilt",
          "kilt#Noun"
        ]
      ],
      "raw_glosses": [
        "(Scotland) A small, single-edged knife worn tucked into the hose (stocking) as part of traditional Scottish Highland dress along with the kilt."
      ],
      "tags": [
        "Scotland"
      ],
      "wikipedia": [
        "sgian dubh"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "sounds": [
    {
      "ipa": "/skiː.ənˈduː/",
      "tags": [
        "Received-Pronunciation"
      ]
    },
    {
      "ipa": "/ski.ənˈdu/",
      "tags": [
        "General-American"
      ]
    },
    {
      "rhymes": "-uː"
    },
    {
      "audio": "LL-Q1860 (eng)-Vealhurl-sgian-dubh.wav",
      "mp3_url": "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/transcoded/8/82/LL-Q1860_%28eng%29-Vealhurl-sgian-dubh.wav/LL-Q1860_%28eng%29-Vealhurl-sgian-dubh.wav.mp3",
      "ogg_url": "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/transcoded/8/82/LL-Q1860_%28eng%29-Vealhurl-sgian-dubh.wav/LL-Q1860_%28eng%29-Vealhurl-sgian-dubh.wav.ogg",
      "tags": [
        "Southern-England"
      ],
      "text": "Audio (Southern England)"
    }
  ],
  "synonyms": [
    {
      "word": "sgian-dubh"
    },
    {
      "word": "skean dhu"
    },
    {
      "word": "skean-dhu"
    },
    {
      "word": "skene dhu"
    },
    {
      "word": "skene-dhu"
    },
    {
      "word": "skhian-dhu"
    }
  ],
  "translations": [
    {
      "code": "ru",
      "english": "skin du",
      "lang": "Russian",
      "sense": "small, single-edged knife worn as part of traditional Scottish Highland dress",
      "word": "скин ду"
    },
    {
      "code": "gd",
      "lang": "Scottish Gaelic",
      "sense": "small, single-edged knife worn as part of traditional Scottish Highland dress",
      "tags": [
        "feminine"
      ],
      "word": "sgian-dubh"
    }
  ],
  "word": "sgian dubh"
}

This page is a part of the kaikki.org machine-readable English dictionary. This dictionary is based on structured data extracted on 2024-04-17 from the enwiktionary dump dated 2024-04-01 using wiktextract (0b52755 and 5cb0836). The data shown on this site has been post-processed and various details (e.g., extra categories) removed, some information disambiguated, and additional data merged from other sources. See the raw data download page for the unprocessed wiktextract data.

If you use this data in academic research, please cite Tatu Ylonen: Wiktextract: Wiktionary as Machine-Readable Structured Data, Proceedings of the 13th Conference on Language Resources and Evaluation (LREC), pp. 1317-1325, Marseille, 20-25 June 2022. Linking to the relevant page(s) under https://kaikki.org would also be greatly appreciated.