hori hori

or hor·i-hor·i

[ hawr-ee hawr-ee ]

noun

1. a sharp, sturdy gardening knife with a concave steel blade, usually with one serrated edge and one straight edge, whose multiple uses include digging, prying up plants, transplanting from pots, dividing perennials, sawing through roots, and cutting into compacted soil:

   Without this hori hori, I never would have attempted to dig up and divide the knotted mass of daylilies near the back steps.

Word History and Origins

Origin of hori hori¹

First recorded in 2000–05; from Japanese, reduplicated use of stem of horu “to dig”