dessert knife

American  

noun

1. a knife used during the dessert course, usually somewhat smaller than a dinner knife.

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Etymology

Origin of dessert knife

First recorded in 1785–95

Example Sentences

The doctor sat tapping the table with a dessert knife.

From Middy and Ensign by Rowlandson, G. D.

“You see how it is,” said he to the young blonde, gesticulating with his dessert knife.

From Friars and Filipinos An Abridged Translation of Dr. Jose Rizal's Tagalog Novel, 'Noli Me Tangere.' by Rizal, José

"Then it comes to this," said Mr. Wade, drawing lines on the tablecloth with his dessert knife as if it were a balance-sheet, and he was casting the final totals there.

From Roden's Corner by Merriman, Henry Seton

After which I watched him show with three bits of bread and two olives and a dessert knife the way in which the German army could be destroyed.

From Moonbeams from the Larger Lunacy by Leacock, Stephen

But the soldiers who, in lieu of a serviceable blade, found themselves in possession of a dessert knife may have taken a different view of the transaction.

From England and Germany by Hughes, William Morris