stiletto

Etymology

Borrowed from Italian stiletto.

Pronunciation

• (US) IPA^(key): /stəˈlɛtoʊ/, [stəˈlɛɾoʊ]

Noun

stiletto (plural stilettos or stilettoes or stiletti)

1. A short sharp knife or dagger-like weapon intended for stabbing.
   • 1905, Baroness Emmuska Orczy, chapter 1, in The Tremarn Case‎:

     “There the cause of death was soon ascertained ; the victim of this daring outrage had been stabbed to death from ear to ear with a long, sharp instrument, in shape like an antique stiletto, which […] was subsequently found under the cushions of the hansom. […]”

2. A rapier.
3. An awl.
4. A woman's shoe with a tall, slender heel (called a stiletto heel).
5. A beard trimmed into a pointed form.
   • Ford

     The very quack of fashions, the very he that / Wears a stiletto on his chin.

Adjective

stiletto (not comparable)

1. Sharp and narrow like a stiletto.

   Her stiletto heels would cause damage if she ever stepped on someone's foot with them.

Verb

stiletto (third-person singular simple present stilettos, present participle stilettoing, simple past and past participle stilettoed)

1. To attack or kill with a stiletto (dagger).

Pronunciation

• Audio

  (file)

Noun

stiletto f (plural ?, diminutive stilettoke n)

1. stiletto

Etymology

stilo (“needle, stylus”) +‎ -etto

Noun

stiletto m (plural stiletti)

1. (weaponry) stiletto, dagger

Verb

stiletto

1. first-person singular present indicative of stilettare

Noun

stiletto m (plural stilettos)

1. stiletto