penknife

[pen-nahyf]

noun

plural

penknives 

1. a small pocketknife, formerly one used for making and sharpening quill pens. pen.

penknife

/ ˈpɛnˌnaɪf /

noun

1. a small knife with one or more blades that fold into the handle; pocketknife

Word History and Origins

Origin of penknife¹

late Middle English word dating back to 1400–50; pen ¹, knife

Word History and Origins

Origin of penknife¹

C15: so called because it was originally used for making and repairing quill pens

Example Sentences

She said police were able to catch Fatafteh because of his DNA on Hartuv’s penknife, which she managed to thrust at him.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

She had been playing in a communal stairwell when Wilkes came out of his flat and stabbed her with a penknife three times, once to her jaw, then her shoulder and knee.

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The surgeon in the penknife case, who the BBC is not naming, was operating on a patient at the Royal Sussex Hospital in Brighton when he struggled to find a scalpel.

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In others, he utilized a metal comb, or a penknife’s back, or a razor’s edge.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

And their behavior made them notorious, as when Capote threw himself a lavish masquerade party, the Black and White Ball, or when Mailer almost killed his wife by stabbing her with a penknife.

Read more on Washington Post