yataghan

American  

[yat-uh-gan, -guhn, yah-tah-gahn] / ˈyæt əˌgæn, -gən, ˌyɑ tɑˈgɑn /

Also ataghan or yatagan

noun

1. a Turkish saber having a doubly curved blade, concave toward the hilt, and a hilt with a prominent pommel and no guard.

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yataghan British  

/ ˈjætəɡən /

noun

1. a Turkish sword with a curved single-edged blade

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Etymology

Origin of yataghan

First recorded in 1810–20, yataghan is from the Turkish word yatağan

Example Sentences

Only concrete indication of how the President felt with Congress' yataghan in his back last week was a note to Majority Leader Rayburn.

From Time Magazine Archive

Yataghans at 15 Blocks On Franklin Roosevelt's desk, when reporters trooped into his office one day last week, lay a wicked-looking gold-handled seven-inch knife�a "yataghan," presented to him by the Sultan of Muscat and Oman.

From Time Magazine Archive

Upon Franklin Roosevelt, the net effect was comparable to that of having his own party toss a yataghan 15 blocks up Pennsylvania Avenue and put it squarely in between his shoulder blades.

From Time Magazine Archive

This thought impressed itself so deeply on my mind—it became so alluring that, unconsciously, my hand went out toward the beautiful yataghan.

From Told by the Death's Head A Romantic Tale by J?kai, M?r

One day his eldest brother—he had five, of whom two were working in the mines of Siberia—had ordered him to take his yataghan, to get on horseback, and follow him.

From The House of the Dead or Prison Life in Siberia with an introduction by Julius Bramont by Dostoyevsky, Fyodor