skean dhu

[ thoo, doo ]

/ ðu, du /

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noun

a small knife tucked into or worn against the top of a stocking in the full dress of Highland Scottish males.

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Also skene dhu.

Origin of skean dhu

First recorded in 1810–20, skean dhu is from Scots Gaelic sgian dhubh literally, “black skean”

Words nearby skean dhu

skate ski, skatole, skatoxyl, Skaw, skean, skean dhu, Skeat, sked, skedaddle, skedaddler, skee

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2022

How to use skean dhu in a sentence

The words vich and dhu are Gaelic, the first meaning "descendant of," the second "black or swarthy."
Lady of the Lake|Sir Walter Scott
In response they swarmed out as would have done the followers to the signal of Roderick Dhu.
Prisons and Prayer: Or a Labor of Love|Elizabeth Ryder Wheaton
Kyral's face changed as she spoke; he drew a long breath and threw the whip down beside my skean on the floor.
The Door Through Space|Marion Zimmer Bradley
The big lunk made a grab at the girl, and I whipped out my skean and pantomimed.
The Door Through Space|Marion Zimmer Bradley

Suddenly, so swiftly my eyes could hardly follow, he whipped out his skean and came at me.
The Door Through Space|Marion Zimmer Bradley

British Dictionary definitions for skean dhu

skean-dhu

/ (ˈskiːənˈduː, ˈskiːn-) /

noun

Scot a variant of sgian-dhu

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