Cuchillo
/kuːˈtʃiːjoʊ/noun
A knife, especially one used in Spanish-speaking regions or Southwestern American English.
Did you know?Cuchillo ultimately connects with English words such as cutlery and coulter, preserving an ancient Indo-European association between blades and cutting.
Etymological Timeline
Proto-Indo-European
PIE
*kelh₁-
“To strike, cut, or beat; a reconstructed root associated with cutting and tools.”
Classical Latin
Latin
culter
“A knife or blade; also a plowshare.”
Late Latin
Latin
cultellus
“A small knife, formed as a diminutive of culter.”
Old Spanish
Old Spanish
cuchiello
“A knife; an early Spanish development from Latin cultellus.”
Modern Spanish
Spanish
cuchillo
“Knife.”
Modern English
English
cuchillo
“A Spanish loanword used in English, particularly in Southwestern and regional contexts, for a knife.”