See Also: dagger(medicine)
dagger(1)(dictionary)
dagger(2)(dictionary)
dagger(dictionary)
cloak-and-dagger(dictionary)

dagger(1) (iou)



dagger noun1 & verb. LME.
[Perh. from DAG verb2 + -ER1, infl. by Old & mod. French dague (see DAG noun3).]
A. noun.
A short stabbing-weapon with a pointed and edged blade. LME.
b. Something that wounds grievously. L16.
Chiefly Nautical. A piece of wood standing upright or aslant. Also = dog-shore s.v. DOG noun. M17.
Typography. A mark resembling a dagger (); an obelisk. E18.
Any of a number of noctuid moths chiefly of the genus Apatele with a dark marking in the shape of a dagger on the forewings. M19.
Phrases: at daggers drawn on the point of fighting, in bitter enmity, (with). double dagger a mark like a dagger but with a second crosspiece near the foot (). look daggers stare angrily (at a person). Spanish dagger: see SPANISH adjective. speak daggers speak angrily or woundingly. wooden dagger: see WOODEN adjective.
Comb.: dagger-board Nautical a sliding centreboard; dagger plant a yucca, Y. aloifolia, having sharp-edged and pointed leaves.
b. verb trans. Stab with a dagger. M16.
daggered adjective armed with a dagger LME.