knobkerrie

[ nob-ker-ee ]

noun

a short, heavy wooden club with a knob on one end, used especially by native peoples of South Africa for striking and throwing.

Origin of knobkerrie

1835–45; <Afrikaans knopkierie, equivalent to knopknob + kierie, said to be <Khoikhoi kirri, keeri stick

Words Nearby knobkerrie

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

How to use knobkerrie in a sentence

Confronting him was a big Zulu, equally muscular, and armed with a formidable knobkerrie and a small shield.
A Frontier Mystery | Bertram Mitford
He was armed with nothing but a knobkerrie, with which he struck and parried with lightning-like rapidity.
The Luck of Gerard Ridgeley | Bertram Mitford
His left hand bore his assegais and knobkerrie beneath the great dappled ox-hide shield; and in his right a yellow walking-staff.
The Story of Baden-Powell | Harold Begbie
In the right hand he held his only weapon, a kind of short but deadly knobkerrie, while his left hand rested upon his naked knee.
The Story of the Zulu Campaign | Waller Ashe
They had been armed with muskets, and each carried a heavy knobkerrie.
The Curse of Carne's Hold | G. A. Henty

British Dictionary definitions for knobkerrie

knobkerrie

knobstick (ˈnɒbˌstɪk)

/ (ˈnɒbˌkɛrɪ) /

noun

a stick with a round knob at the end, used as a club or missile by South African tribesmen

Origin of knobkerrie

C19: from Afrikaans knopkierie, from knop knob, from Middle Dutch cnoppe + kierie stick, from Khoikhoi kīrri

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

Browse