different between stiletto vs switchblade

English

Etymology

Borrowed from Italian stiletto. Doublet of stylet.

Pronunciation

• (US) IPA^(key): /st??l?to?/, [st??l??o?]
• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /st??let??/

Noun

stiletto (plural stilettos or stilettoes or stiletti)

1. A small, slender knife or dagger-like weapon intended for stabbing.
2. A rapier.
3. An awl.
4. A woman's shoe with a tall, slender heel (called a stiletto heel).
5. A beard trimmed into a pointed form.
   • 1636, John Ford, The Fancies Chaste and Noble

     The very quack of fashions, the very he that / Wears a stiletto on his chin.

Translations

Adjective

stiletto (not comparable)

1. Sharp and narrow like a stiletto.

Derived terms

• stiletto heel

Verb

stiletto (third-person singular simple present stilettos, present participle stilettoing, simple past and past participle stilettoed)

1. (transitive) To attack or kill with a stiletto (dagger).
   • 1834, Henry Tudor, Narrative of a Tour in North America

     The recollection of former atrocities by the populace in plundering the city and stilettoing the inhabitants, is sufficiently fresh in the remembrance of the government to serve as an additional stimulus to prevent similar disorders.

Dutch

Etymology

From Italian stiletto

Pronunciation

Noun

stiletto f (plural ?, diminutive stilettoke n)

1. stiletto

Synonyms

• hoge hakken (both for shoe and heel itself)

Italian

Etymology

stilo (“needle, stylus”) +? -etto

Noun

stiletto m (plural stiletti)

1. (weaponry) stiletto, dagger

Derived terms

• stilettata

Verb

stiletto

1. first-person singular present indicative of stilettare

Spanish

Etymology

From Italian stiletto.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /esti?leto/, [es.t?i?le.t?o]

Noun

stiletto m (plural stilettos)

1. stiletto

English

Alternative forms

• switch blade
• switch-blade

Etymology

switch +? blade

Noun

switchblade (plural switchblades)

1. A folding knife with a blade which opens automatically (under spring pressure) when a button is pressed.

Translations

See also

• flick knife

Verb

switchblade (third-person singular simple present switchblades, present participle switchblading, simple past and past participle switchbladed)

1. (transitive) To attack or cut with a switchblade.
2. (intransitive) To spring open or up.
3. (transitive, intransitive) To (cause to) make a sudden move or transition.

Translations