skean

[ skeen, skee-uhn ]
See synonyms for skean on Thesaurus.com
noun
  1. a knife or dagger formerly used in Ireland and in the Scottish Highlands.

Origin of skean

1
1520–30; <Scots Gaelic sgian or Irish scian
  • Also skene [skeen] /skin/ .

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use skean in a sentence

  • And meddling with a street-shrine would be just as dangerous as the skeans of my three loud-mouthed Dry-town roughnecks.

    The Door Through Space | Marion Zimmer Bradley
  • We all carry skeans, but I don't think there's a shocker in the whole camp, let alone a gun.

    The Door Through Space | Marion Zimmer Bradley
  • A dozen swords and skeans blazed out upon him, and he fell, pierced by three or four of his entertainers at once.

    The Story Of Ireland | Emily Lawless
  • The very women were exhorted by their spiritual directors to carry skeans.

  • The Desmond clansmen were not soldiers; they were unarmed, or armed only with spears and skeans.

    The Story Of Ireland | Emily Lawless

British Dictionary definitions for skean

skean

/ (skiːn) /


noun
  1. a kind of double-edged dagger formerly used in Ireland and Scotland

Origin of skean

1
from Irish and Scottish Gaelic scian

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