couteau

American  

[koo-toh] / kuˈtoʊ /

noun

• couteaux
  plural

1. a knife, especially a large double-edged one formerly carried as a weapon.

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couteau British  

/ kuːˈtəʊ /

noun

1. a large two-edged knife used formerly as a weapon

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Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• couteaux
  plural

Etymology

Origin of couteau

1670–80; < French; Old French coutel < Latin cultellus; see cultellus

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

couteau couteaux

A curiously-formed ridge—a couteau des prairies, on a small scale—traversed the plain from east to west.

From Harper's New Monthly Magazine No. XVI.?September, 1851?Vol. III. by Various

He wore a velvet doublet of green, slashed with gold, and ornamented by a broad belt, from which hung his couteau de chasse; even to the falcon feather in his cap, nothing was forgotten.

From Tom Burke Of "Ours", Volume II by Charles James Lever

He could say, with a fine fluency, "Ou est le blooming couteau?" or "Donnez-moi le bally fourchette, s'il vous plait, madame."

From Now It Can Be Told by Philip Gibbs

Around his waist was bound a crimson sash for a hunting-belt, in which was stuck a couteau du chasse, with a hilt sparkling with jewels.

From Captain Kyd, Vol. II or, The Wizard of the Sea by Jonathon Holt Ingraham

The word is derived from the Fr. coutelas, or coutelace, a form of coutel, modern couteau, a knife, from Lat. cultellus, diminutive of culter, a ploughshare, or cutting instrument.

From Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 7, Slice 8 "Cube" to "Daguerre, Louis" by Various

When we were all ready to shove off, "Lafont," he said, "are the men ready with their couteaux?"

From Tom Cringle's Log by Michael Scott

Marmontel says they were often à couteaux tirés; and this, not metaphorically but literally.

From The Romance of Biography (Vol 2 of 2) or Memoirs of Women Loved and Celebrated by Poets, from the Days of the Troubadours to the Present Age. 3rd ed. 2 Vols. by Mrs. (Anna) Jameson