cutlass

Meanings

1. 1
   noun

   a short, heavy sword with a broad, curved, single-edged blade, formerly used especially by sailors

   The sailor drew his cutlass as the boarding party reached the deck.

2. 2
   noun

   a broad, machete-like tool used for cutting vegetation

   The farmer cleared a path through the cane with a cutlass.

3. 3
   verb

   to cut vegetation back with a cutlass

   Workers cutlassed the weeds along the field boundary.

Through French coutelas from Old French coutel, 'knife,' plus an augmentative suffix. The word originally emphasized a large knife before becoming the familiar name for a sailor's short curved sword.

Topics