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assagai

[as-uh-gahy]
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noun, plural as·sa·gais, verb (used with object), as·sa·gaied, as·sa·gai·ing.
  1. assegai.
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assegai

or as·sa·gai

[as-uh-gahy]
noun, plural as·se·gais.
  1. the slender javelin or spear of the Bantu-speaking people of southern Africa.
  2. a southern African tree, Curtisia dentata, of the dogwood family, from whose wood such spears are made.
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verb (used with object), as·se·gaied, as·se·gai·ing.
  1. to pierce with an assegai.
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Origin of assegai

1615–25; earlier azagaia < Portuguese < Arabic az zaghāyah, equivalent to al the + Berber zaghāyah assegai
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Examples from the Web for assagai

Historical Examples

  • Mr Pringle had just fired his rifle, and was reloading when the assagai struck him.

    Six Months at the Cape

    R.M. Ballantyne

  • Opposition was offered, and the officer in command wounded with an assagai.

  • A third ran forward while Pringle was loading and threw an assagai at him.

  • Jerry referred to a wound which an assagai aimed at his heart had that day inflicted on his nose.

  • He urged his horse to greater exertion, and kept stabbing at his pursuer with an assagai.

British Dictionary definitions for assagai

assagai

noun plural -gais
  1. a variant spelling of assegai
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assegai

assagai

noun plural -gais
  1. a southern African cornaceous tree, Curtisia faginea, the wood of which is used for making spears
  2. a sharp light spear, esp one made of this wood
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Word Origin

C17: from Portuguese azagaia, from Arabic az zaghāyah, from al the + zaghāyah assegai, from Berber
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012