yataghan

[ yat-uh-gan, -guh n; Turkish yah-tah-gahn ]

/ ˈyæt əˌgæn, -gən; Turkish ˌyɑ tɑˈgɑn /

noun

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

Nearby words

Also ataghan, yat·a·gan.

Origin of yataghan

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

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for yataghan

Has folded up his turban, put away his kaftan, hung up his yataghan, and once more resumed the dress of commonplace Englishman.
Punch, or the London Charivari, Vol. 109, August 24, 1895|Various
The blade of his yataghan was inlaid with an elaborate gold device from point to hilt.
Albania|E. F. Knight
A lucky thing to save the head of one of the War Office from a Bedouin's yataghan.
Edmond Dants|Edmund Flagg
Our fare consisted of cold meat carved in slices with the yataghan, and rum out of the mouth of the same bottle.
Blackwood's Edinburgh Magazine -- Volume 57, No. 351, January 1845|Various

The next morning the yataghan of Ali was found beneath the window!
The Sicilian Bandit|Alexandre Dumas, pere

British Dictionary definitions for yataghan

yataghan

ataghan

/ (ˈjætəɡən) /

noun

a Turkish sword with a curved single-edged blade

Word Origin for yataghan

C19: from Turkish yataǧan

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