bodkin

[ bod-kin ]

/ ˈbɒd kɪn /

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See synonyms for bodkin on Thesaurus.com

noun

a small, pointed instrument for making holes in cloth, leather, etc.

a long pinshaped instrument used by women to fasten up the hair.

a blunt, needlelike instrument for drawing tape, cord, etc., through a loop, hem, or the like.

Obsolete. a small dagger; stiletto.

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Origin of bodkin

1350–1400; Middle English badeken, bo(i)dekyn, of uncertain origin

Words nearby bodkin

Bo Diddley beat, bodied, bodiless, bodily, boding, bodkin, Bodleian, Bodley, Bodmin, Bodö, Bodoni

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use bodkin in a sentence

Next from the large casket Mrs. Sin took another smaller casket and a very long, tapering silver bodkin.
Dope|Sax Rohmer
He calmly inserted the bodkin in the second cake; seemed to meet with some obstruction, and laid the ball down upon the counter.
Dope|Sax Rohmer
Christopher Bodkin of Tuam may, from his character, have conformed insincerely, but this is not proved.
Ireland Under the Tudors, Vol. II (of 3)|Richard Bagwell
But I must not say more even to you, dear Mrs. Bodkin, for these are State secrets, which should be sacredly respected.
A Charming Fellow, Volume II (of 3)|Frances Eleanor Trollope

We have already been present at more than one social gathering at Dr. Bodkin's house.
A Charming Fellow, Volume II (of 3)|Frances Eleanor Trollope

British Dictionary definitions for bodkin

bodkin

/ (ˈbɒdkɪn) /

noun

a blunt large-eyed needle used esp for drawing tape through openwork

archaic a dagger

printing a pointed steel tool used for extracting characters when correcting metal type

archaic a long ornamental hairpin

Word Origin for bodkin

C14: probably of Celtic origin; compare Gaelic biodag dagger

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

bodkin

Origin of bodkin

Words nearby bodkin

Words related to bodkin

How to use bodkin in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for bodkin

Word Origin for bodkin