Jump to content

Mattucashlass

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

A mattucashlass is a type of dagger worn concealed in the armpit and primarily used for close combat, part of traditional Scottish male Highland dress.[1] It is also referred to as an armpit dagger[1] or a sleeve dagger in English. In Scots, the alternative name skene-ochil or skene-occles can also be found.[2]

Etymology

[edit]

The term mattucashlass derives from Scottish Gaelic: biodag-achlais[3] (Scottish Gaelic pronunciation: [pit̪akˈaxl̪ˠɪʃ], biodag meaning "dagger" and achlais "armpit") presumably via the dialectal by-form miodag, which is attested in Shaw's 1788 Galic and English Dictionary.[4]

It is also known in Gaelic as the sgian-achlais (sgian meaning "knife"),[5] from which the Scots term skene-ochil or skene-occles is derived.

See also

[edit]

References

[edit]
  1. ^ a b Duane, William A Military Dictionary Philadelphia, 1810
  2. ^ "skean". Dictionary of the Scots Language. Retrieved 1 May 2016.
  3. ^ "Dagger". Am Faclair Beag. Retrieved 1 May 2016.
  4. ^ Shaw, William Galic and English Dictionary 1780
  5. ^ "Sgian-achlais". Am Faclair Beag. Retrieved 1 May 2016.