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DIRK

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Originally appearing in Volume V08, Page 310 of the 1911 Encyclopedia Britannica.
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DIRK , a See also:

dagger, particularly the heavy dagger carried by the Highlanders of See also:Scotland. The dirk as worn in full Highland See also:costume is an elaborately ornamented weapon, with cairngorms or other stones set in the See also:head of the handle, which has no guard. Inserted in the sheath there may be two small knives. The dirk, in the shape of a straight blade, with a small guard, some 18 in. See also:long, is worn by midshipmen in the See also:British See also:navy. The origin of the word is doubtful. The earlier forms were dork and See also:duck, and the spelling dirk, adopted by See also:Johnson, represents the See also:pronunciation of the second See also:form. The name seems to have been See also:early applied to the daggers of the Highlanders, but the Gaelic word is biodag, and the Irish duirc, often stated to be the origin, is only an See also:adaptation of the See also:English word. It may be a corruption of the See also:German Dolch, a dagger. The See also:suggestion that it is an application of the See also:Christian name " Dirk," the See also:short form of " Dieterich," is not See also:borne out, according to the New English See also:Dictionary, by any use of this name for a dagger, and is further disproved by the earlier English spelling.

End of Article: DIRK

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