scimitar

noun

scim·​i·​tar ˈsi-mə-tər 

-ˌtär

: a saber having a curved blade with the edge on the convex side and used chiefly by Arabs and Turks

Examples of scimitar in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

For instance, some species were categorized as saber toothed, conical toothed, or scimitar toothed. —Paul Smaglik, Discover Magazine, 17 May 2024

There’s also a head-spinning number of high-flying and extremely athletic dance scenes — some with drums and veils, some with tap shoes, some with scimitars and some with dinner trays that hide pop-up surprises. —Pam Kragen, San Diego Union-Tribune, 4 Apr. 2024

His sleepy eyes, scimitar nose, and pronounced chin made his face a caricaturist’s dream. —Mark Feeney, BostonGlobe.com, 21 July 2023

The Katara Towers, the near-circular building modeled on the scimitar swords that make up Qatar’s emblem, play host to two luxury hotels, the Fairmont Doha and the all-suite Raffles Doha, the country’s first six-star hotel. —Ulrike Lemmin-Woolfrey, CNN, 24 Apr. 2023

Word History

Etymology

borrowed from Italian scimitarra (earlier also samitara, semitara, simitara), probably borrowed, by uncertain mediation, from Persian šamšer "sword, scimitar," going back to Middle Persian (Pahlavi) šamšēr (written šmšyl), šafšēr (written špšyl), Middle Persian (Manichaean) šafšēr, šefšēr (written šfšyr, š(y)pšyr), of obscure origin

Note: Many other variants exist in early Modern English, some, such as cimiter, reflecting Middle French cimiterre. The popular derivation as a compound of modern Persian šam "tail" or "claw" and šer "lion" has no etymological value, given the Middle Persian forms. Greek sampsḗra "a kind of sword of state," presumably borrowed from Persian, occurs in the Antiquitates Judaicae (ca. 94 A.D.) of Flavius Josephus. The Middle Persian word may be a borrowing, but a source is unknown. Old Iranian apparently lacks a word for "sword" (see W.W. Malandra, "A glossary of terms for weapons and armor in Old Iranian," Indo-Iranian Journal, vol. 15, no. 4 [1973], pp. 264-89).

First Known Use

1562, in the meaning defined above

Kids Definition

scimitar

noun

scim·​i·​tar ˈsim-ət-ər 

-ə-ˌtär

: a sword with a curved blade used in the past especially in the Middle East and western Asia