scimitar English · revision 763

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: /ˈsɪmɪtə/, /ˈsɪmɪtɑː/ ''(UK)''; /ˈsɪmɪtəɹ/, /ˈsɪmɪˌtɑɹ/ ''(US)''^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[bor|frm|cimeterre]] and [[bor|it|scimitarra]],^(AHD)^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline)^(MW Collegiate)^(Hoad 1986) words of uncertain origin.^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline) Turkish would be the expected source, but no such word has been found there;^(Etymonline) perhaps it is from Persian ''šamšīr'',^(AHD)^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline)^(Hoad 1986) though the OED finds this unsatisfactory as to form.^(Etymonline) The modern spelling, first found in 1562, follows the Italian form.^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline)^(MW Collegiate)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ A short, curved, single-edged sword, a characteristic weapon of the Turks and Persians (before 1548, as ''cimiterie'').^(OED 1989)^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ Because of its Eastern associations, ignorance of its original form and imitation of both French and Italian spellings, the word has appeared in a great variety of forms, such as ''cimiterie'', ''cemitere'', ''cymitare'' and ''simitar''.^(Etymonline)^(Hoad 1986) From 1689 it was used figuratively,^(OED 1989) and in compounds such as ''scimitar-horned'' it describes curved shapes.^(OED 1989)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * before 1548 – ''cimiterie'', a curved sword.^(OED 1989)^(Barnhart 1995)

+ * 1562 – spelling ''scimitar''.^(Barnhart 1995)^(MW Collegiate)

+ * 1689 – figurative use.^(OED 1989)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Noun===

+ # A curved, single-edged [[sabre|alt=saber]] of Eastern origin, with the edge on the [[convex]] side.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)^(RHWU)^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[scimitared]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[sabre]]

+ * [[cutlass]]

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}