sgian dubh
Syllables: sgi·an dubh/skiː.ənˈduː/US/ski.ənˈdu/
sgian dubh noun: a small, single-edged knife worn tucked into the hose (stocking) as part of traditional Scottish Highland dress along with the kilt.
Noun
sgian dubh (plural sgian dubhs or sgians dubh or (rare) sgianan dubha)
- A small, single-edged knife worn tucked into the hose (stocking) as part of traditional Scottish Highland dress along with the kilt.
- [Y]oung Durward sprung lightly as the ounce up into the tree, drew from his pouch that most necessary implement of a Highlander or woodsman, the trusty skene dhu, and, calling to those below to receive the body on their hands, cut the rope asunder in less than a minute after he had perceived the...1823, [Walter Scott], “The Bohemians”, in Quentin Durward. […], volume I, Edinburgh: […] [James Ballantyne and Co.] for Archibald Constable and Co.; London: Hurst, Robinson, and Co., →OCLC, page 129
- Give me my skene-dhu, and let me go on my road. I should have been half way to Stirling brig by this time—Give me my dirk, and let me go.1827, [Walter Scott], chapter XIII, in Chronicles of the Canongate; […], volume I (The Two Drovers), Edinburgh: […] [Ballantyne and Co.] for Cadell and Co.; London: Simpkin and Marshall, →OCLC, page...
Examples of sgian dubh in a sentence
- It was frequently called sgian dubh, i.e. black knife, either from the usual colour of the haft, or from the fatal blow which it so often dealt.[1857, Standish Hayes O’Grady, editor, Toruigheacht Dhiarmuda agus Ghrainne; or, The Pursuit after Diarmuid O’Duibhne, and Grainne the...
- In the stocking should be worn a sgian dubh, on the outer part of the right leg.1980, Geddes MacGregor, “Kilt, Clan, Tartan, and Bagpipe”, in Scotland: An Intimate Portrait, Boston, Mass.: Houghton Mifflin Company...
- If you do not care if your knife appears a bit weaponlike, go for a sgian dubh style blade, but be sure to pick out a good one as most eBay sgian dubhs are practically nonfunctional replicas.2012 January 3, C. R. Jahn, “The Subtle Blade”, in FTW Self Defense, Bloomington, Ind.: iUniverse, →ISBN, page 133:
- The sgian dubhs tucked into the top of the men's socks caught my fancy.2015, Charlena Miller, chapter 16, in What Lies Between, Portland, Or.: Red Bicycle Press, →ISBN:
Forms of sgian dubh
| plural | sgian dubhs |
|---|---|
| plural | sgians dubh |
| alternative form | sgian-dubh |
| alternative form | skean dhu |
| alternative form | skean-dhu |
| alternative form | skene dhu |
| alternative form | skene-dhu |
| alternative form | skhian-dhu |
| plural (rare) | sgianan dubha |
Origin of sgian dubh
Borrowed from Scottish Gaelic sgian-dubh: sgian (“knife”) (ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *sek- (“to cut; to cut off, sever”)) + dubh (“black; (figurative) hidden”) (ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *dʰewbʰ- (“deep”)). The plural form sgianan dubha is also borrowed from Scottish Gaelic.
Words that rhyme with sgian dubh
Questions about sgian dubh
- What does sgian dubh mean?
- Sgian dubh means a small, single-edged knife worn tucked into the hose (stocking) as part of traditional Scottish Highland dress along with the kilt.
- How do you use sgian dubh in a sentence?
- It was frequently called sgian dubh, i.e. black knife, either from the usual colour of the haft, or from the fatal blow which it so often dealt.
- What part of speech is sgian dubh?
- Sgian dubh is a noun.
- How do you pronounce sgian dubh?
- Sgian dubh is pronounced /skiː.ənˈduː/ (UK).
- What is the plural of sgian dubh?
- The plural of sgian dubh is sgian dubhs.
Words near sgian dubh in the dictionary
Source and license
Adapted from Wiktionary: sgian dubh (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: LL-Q1860 (eng)-Vealhurl-sgian-dubh.wav.
Cite this entry: “sgian dubh.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/sgian_dubh. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.