poniard

/ˈpɑnjərd/

Other forms: poniards; poniarded; poniarding

A poniard is a small knife with a narrow, sharp blade. If you'd been a knight during the Middle Ages, you probably would have carried a poniard.

A poniard, or poignard, is a type of dagger that you're only likely to see in a museum or used by a historical re-enactor. French and Italian Renaissance nobles were known to carry poniards, and to occasionally use them in hand-to-hand combat. The word is French, from the Old French poignal, used to mean "dagger," but literally "anything grasped in the fist," from poing, "fist."

Definitions of poniard

1. noun

   a dagger with a slender blade
   synonyms: bodkin

   type of:

   dagger, sticker

   a short knife with a pointed blade used for piercing or stabbing
2. verb

   stab with a poniard
   type of:

   knife, stab

   use a knife on