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definitions

hilt

[hilt]
noun
  1. the handle of a sword or dagger.
  2. the handle of any weapon or tool.
verb (used with object)
  1. to furnish with a hilt.
Idioms
  1. to the hilt, to the maximum extent or degree; completely; fully: to play the role to the hilt.Also up to the hilt.

Origin of hilt

before 900; Middle English, Old English hilt(e); cognate with Middle Dutch hilt(e), Old Norse hjalt, Old High German helza handle of a sword
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Examples from the Web for hilted

Historical Examples of hilted

  • It was a simple uniform of blue and white, with a single silver epaulette, and a sword, hilted with the same metal.

    The O'Donoghue

    Charles James Lever

  • His belt was of black and gold, and the dagger it held was hilted with gleaming jewels.

    The Hill of Venus

    Nathan Gallizier

  • Fleuret meant in Old French a sword-blade not yet polished and hilted, and we find it used, as we do Eng.

British Dictionary definitions for hilted

hilt

noun
  1. the handle or shaft of a sword, dagger, etc
  2. to the hilt to the full
verb
  1. (tr) to supply with a hilt

Word Origin for hilt

Old English; related to Old Norse hjalt, Old Saxon helta oar handle, Old High German helza
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
Word Origin and History for hilted

hilt

n.

Old English hilt "hilt, handle of a sword or dagger," from Proto-Germanic *helt (cf. Old Norse hjalt, Old High German helza "hilt," Old Saxon helta "oar handle"), perhaps from PIE *kel- "to strike." Formerly also used in plural in same sense as singular.

Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
Idioms and Phrases with hilted

hilt

see to the hilt.

The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.