cutlass

or cut·las

[ kuht-luhs ]

/ ˈkʌt ləs /

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noun

a short, heavy, slightly curved sword with a single cutting edge, formerly used by sailors.

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Origin of cutlass

1585–95; earlier coutelace<Middle French coutelas, equivalent to coutel knife (French couteau) (<Latin cultellus;see cultellus) + -as augmentative suffix; cognate with Italian coltellaccio big knife; cf. curtalax

Words nearby cutlass

cutis anserina, cutis vera, cut it, cut it fine, cut it out, cutlass, cutlassfish, cutler, cutlery, cutlet, cutline

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

How to use cutlass in a sentence

The sword is a piece of wood shaped somewhat like a cutlass.
Narrative of a Survey of the Intertropical and Western Coasts of Australia] [Volume 2 of 2]|Phillip Parker King
The others were lying flat in the shadow on the bulwarks, each with cutlass tightly clutched in hand.
Stories of Our Naval Heroes|Various
Each man lay in his clothes with a weapon of death in his hand; Robinson with two, a revolver and a cutlass ground like a razor.
It Is Never Too Late to Mend|Charles Reade
At one and the same moment the pistol exploded and the cutlass struck it and knocked it against the other side of the tent.
It Is Never Too Late to Mend|Charles Reade

Now those two fingers are the ones you chopped off with your cutlass the night when the tent was attacked.
It Is Never Too Late to Mend|Charles Reade

British Dictionary definitions for cutlass

cutlass

/ (ˈkʌtləs) /

noun

a curved, one-edged sword formerly used by sailors

Word Origin for cutlass

C16: from French coutelas, from coutel knife, from Latin cultellus a small knife, from culter knife; see coulter

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

cutlass

or cut·las

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Origin of cutlass

Words nearby cutlass

Words related to cutlass

How to use cutlass in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for cutlass

Word Origin for cutlass