Meanings
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1
noun
historical: a dagger with a slender blade, often of triangular or square cross section
The display case contained a jeweled poniard beside a ceremonial sword.
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2
verb
archaic: to stab, pierce, or kill with a poniard
The melodrama's villain threatened to poniard the sleeping guard.
Thesaurus
Etymology
Borrowed from Middle French poignard, 'dagger,' from poing, 'fist,' ultimately Latin pugnus, 'fist.' English simplified the spelling to poniard while also retaining the rarer variant poignard. The noun dates from the sixteenth century; a verb meaning 'stab with a poniard' followed soon after.