penknife
penknife noun: a small pocketknife; (loosely) any pocketknife.
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Noun
penknife (plural penknives)
- A small pocketknife; (loosely) any pocketknife.
- Limpet's penknife was on the table, and he snatched that up and commenced stabbing it into the cork, whether as a means of getting it out, or merely as a relief to his passion, it is difficult to say.1913, Norman Lindsay, A Curate in Bohemia, Sydney: N.S.W. Bookstall Co., published 1932, page 156
- The logical distinction between genus and species can, of course, apply to any objects whatsoever. Thus, for example, the genus knife may be divided into several species, such as penknife, table knife, bread knife, razor, etc. We might define the penknife as a knife small enough to be carried in...1948, G. Rabel, Discovery
- A small knife designed for safe and convenient storage, typically in the form of a miniature clasp-knife, or with blade retractable into the handle.
- Presently the man took a reed pen from his satchel, and trimmed it with a little ivory knife, carved in the semblance of a fish. "Oh, what a beauty!" cried Dan. "'Ware fingers! That blade is perilous sharp. I made it myself of the best Low Country crossbow steel. And so, too, this fish. When his...1906, Rudyard Kipling, Puck of Pook's Hill
- A small knife for cutting the points of quill feathers or reeds into nibs to provide or repair writing implements, early versions were commonly small sheath knives.
- If a ſarcell, or other feathers be broken aboue the quyll, towards the poynt of yͤ fethers twoo or three fingers bredth, you muſt cut it off with a ſharpe penknife, aſlope, and (as they ſay) a ſwaſhe, ⁊ then take another feather to the ſame, cutting it in like manner, as you did the other, ſo as it...1575, George Turberuile [i.e.. George Turberville], “The Way and Manner, Howe to Ympe a Hawkes Feather, Howsoeuer It be Broken or Broosed”, in The Booke of Faulconrie or Hauking, for the Onely...
- Every sin is damning without Christ. "The wages of sin is death". It is no great difference, if a man be killed, whether it be by a sword or a penknife. The least sin violates the whole law. He that offendeth in one point, is guilty of all.1689, John Flavel, Christ Knocking at the Door
Verb
penknife (third-person singular simple present penknifes, present participle penknifing, simple past and past participle penknifed)
- To cut or carve with a penknife.
penknife meaning in Hindi, Tamil, Bengali and Telugu
penknife in Hindi
- knife for cutting the points of quill feathers or reeds
- क़लमतराश qalmatrāś
penknife in Tamil
- தூவற்கத்தி, கத்தி, பேனாகத்தி
penknife in Bengali
- ছোটো পকেটের ছুরি
penknife in Telugu
- small pocketknife
- చాకు cāku
More languagesFewer languages
- penknife in Kannada
- ಚಾಕು cāku
- penknife in Punjabi
- ਚਾਕ਼ੂ cāqū
- penknife in Arabic
- مِطْواة miṭwāh
- penknife in Persian
- قلمتراش qalam-tarâš
Forms of penknife
| Noun | |
|---|---|
| plural | penknives |
| Verb | |
| third-person singular present | penknifes |
| present participle | penknifing |
| past participle | penknifed |
| past | penknifed |
Origin of penknife
From Middle English penne knyfe; equivalent to pen + knife. In the original sense, named for its purpose: aiding the use of a (traditional) ink pen through the following tasks: trimming the tip of a quill pen, trimming a reed for a nib, and (in some cases) allowing erasure by scraping away some ink.
Words formed from penknife
Questions about penknife
- What does penknife mean?
- Penknife means a small pocketknife; (loosely) any pocketknife.
- What is penknife in Hindi?
- Penknife in Hindi is क़लमतराश (qalmatrāś). See Penknife meaning in Hindi.
- What part of speech is penknife?
- Penknife can be a noun or a verb.
- What is the plural of penknife?
- The plural of penknife is penknives.
Words near penknife in the dictionary
Source and license
Adapted from Wiktionary: penknife (page history and authors); penknife (Tamil Wiktionary) (page history and authors); penknife (Bengali Wiktionary) (page history and authors); ಚಾಕು (Kannada) (page history and authors); ਚਾਕ਼ੂ (Punjabi) (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.
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Pronunciation audio from Wikimedia Commons, each file under its own free license: LL-Q1860 (eng)-Flame, not lame-penknife.wav.
Cite this entry: “penknife.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/penknife. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.