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Webster 1913 Edition


Stiletto

Sti-let′to

,
Noun.
;
pl.
Stilettos
(#)
.
[It., dim. of
stilo
a dagger, fr. L.
stilus
a pointed instrument. See
Style
for writing, and cf.
Stylet
.]
1.
A kind of dagger with a slender, rounded, and pointed blade.
2.
A pointed instrument for making eyelet holes in embroidery.
3.
A beard trimmed into a pointed form.
[Obs.]
The very quack of fashions, the very he that
Wears a
stiletto
on his chin.
Ford.

Sti-let′to

,
Verb.
T.
[
imp. & p. p.
Stilettoed
;
p. pr. & vb. n.
Stilettoing
.]
To stab or kill with a stiletto.
Bacon.

Webster 1828 Edition


Stiletto

STILETTO

,
Noun.
[See Style.] A small dagger with a round pointed blade.

Definition 2024


stiletto

stiletto

See also: stilettò

English

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.

Translations

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.

Derived terms

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).

Italian

Etymology

stilo (needle, stylus) + -etto

Noun

stiletto m (plural stiletti)

  1. (weaponry) stiletto, dagger

Derived terms

Verb

stiletto

  1. first-person singular present indicative of stilettare