English

Alternative forms

• poignard
• poynard
• punierd

Noun

poniard ‎(plural poniards)

1. (now chiefly historical) A dagger typically having a slender square or triangular blade.
   • c. 1601, William Shakespeare, Hamlet, V.1:

     The sir King ha's wag'd with him six Barbary horses, / against the which he impon'd as I take it, sixe French / Rapiers and Poniards, with their assignes, as Girdle, / Hangers or so […].

   • 1603, John Florio, translating Michel de Montaigne, Essayes, London: Edward Blount, OCLC 946730821, II.29:

     A Poynard is more sure to wound a man, which forsomuch as it requireth more motion and vigor of the arme, than a pistol, it's stroke is more subject to be hindred or avoyded.

   • 1824, James Hogg, The Private Memoirs and Confessions of a Justified Sinner:

     On this occasion I said nothing, but concealing his poniard in my clothes, I hasted up the mountain, determined to execute my purpose […].

Translations

Verb

poniard ‎(third-person singular simple present poniards, present participle poniarding, simple past and past participle poniarded)

1. To stab with a poniard.

Related terms

• impugn
• pugilism
• pugnacious
• repugn (repugnant)

References

• “poniard” in The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition, Houghton Mifflin Company, 2000.
• “poniard” in Dictionary.com Unabridged, v1.0.1, Lexico Publishing Group, 2006.
• "poniard" in WordNet 2.0, Princeton University, 2003.