scimitar
UK/ˈsɪmɪtə//ˈsɪmɪtəɹ/
scimitar noun: a sword of Persian origin that features a curved blade.
Noun
scimitar (plural scimitars)
- A sword of Persian origin that features a curved blade.
- The Prince of Morocco:
[…]By this Symitare,
That ſlew the Sophie, and a Perſian Prince
That won three fields of Sultan Solyman,
I would ore-ſtare the ſterneſt eies that looke,
Out-braue the heart moſt daring on the earth:
Plucke the yong ſucking Cubs from the ſhe Beare,
Yea, mocke the Lion when he...c. 1596–1598 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Merchant of Venice”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward]... - Next door is a room devoted to Albanian history (“what a lovely scimitar,” I find myself exclaiming, my reserves of small talk inadequate at the sight of the family’s sword collection),[…]2022 April 12, Helen Lewis, “Among Europe’s Ex-Royals”, in The Atlantic
- The Prince of Morocco:
- A long-handled billhook.
Verb
scimitar (third-person singular simple present scimitars, present participle scimitaring, simple past and past participle scimitared)
- To strike or slice with, or as if with, a scimitar.
scimitar meaning in Hindi, Tamil, Urdu and Bengali
scimitar in Hindi
- sword with curved blade
- शमशेर śamśer, शमशीर śamśīr, समसेर samser, तलवार talvār, तेग teg, सैफ saiph
scimitar in Tamil
- sword with curved blade
- வக்கிரகட்கம் vakkirakaṭkam, கத்தி katti
scimitar in Urdu
- sword with curved blade
- شمشیر śamśer, śamśīr
scimitar in Bengali
- sword with curved blade
- শমশের śomośer, তেগ teg, তলোয়ার tôloar, তরোয়াল tôroal
More languagesFewer languages
- scimitar in Telugu
- ఖడ్గము khaḍgamu
- scimitar in Kannada
- ಬಾಗುಕತ್ತಿ, ಕುಡುಗತ್ತಿ, ಕಿರುಬಾಗು ಕತ್ತಿ
- scimitar in Punjabi
- ਸ਼ਮਸ਼ੀਰ śamśīr, ਸ਼ੁਮਸ਼ੇਰ śumśer
- scimitar in Gujarati
- શમશેર śamśer, સમશેર samśer
- scimitar in Sanskrit
- असि asi
- scimitar in Arabic
- سَيْف sayf
- scimitar in Persian
- شمشیر šamšir, تیغ tiġ, دشنه dešne, dašne, پلارک palârak
Forms of scimitar
| Noun | |
|---|---|
| plural | scimitars |
| alternative form (archaic) | simitar |
| alternative form (obsolete) | cimeter |
| alternative form (obsolete) | cimiter |
| alternative form (obsolete) | cymeter |
| alternative form (obsolete) | scimetar |
| alternative form (obsolete) | scimiter |
| alternative form (obsolete) | semitar |
| Verb | |
| third-person singular present | scimitars |
| present participle | scimitaring |
| past participle | scimitared |
| past | scimitared |
Origin of scimitar
First attested in 1548. From Middle French cimeterre (15c.) or directly from Italian scimitarra, possibly from an unknown Ottoman Turkish word, ultimately from Classical Persian شمشیر (šamšēr, “sword”). Doublet of shamshir.
Words formed from scimitar
Phrases with scimitar
Words that rhyme with scimitar
Questions about scimitar
- What does scimitar mean?
- Scimitar means a sword of Persian origin that features a curved blade.
- What is scimitar in Hindi?
- Scimitar in Hindi is शमशेर (śamśer), शमशीर (śamśīr), समसेर (samser). See Scimitar meaning in Hindi.
- What part of speech is scimitar?
- Scimitar can be a noun or a verb.
- How do you pronounce scimitar?
- Scimitar is pronounced /ˈsɪmɪtə/ (UK).
- What is the plural of scimitar?
- The plural of scimitar is scimitars.
Words near scimitar in the dictionary
Source and license
Adapted from Wiktionary: scimitar (page history and authors); scimitar (Kannada Wiktionary) (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.
Last updated:
Pronunciation audio from Wikimedia Commons, each file under its own free license: Scimitar-pronunciation-us.ogg.
Cite this entry: “scimitar.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/scimitar. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.