Dirk
/dɜːrk/noun
A long thrusting dagger, especially one associated with Scottish Highland tradition.
Did you know?The English dirk is first recorded in the 17th century and is usually linked to Scots/Gaelic forms, but its deeper origin is uncertain and may be connected to older Germanic words for a spear or pointed weapon.
Etymological Timeline
17th Century
English
dirk
“a dagger or short thrusting knife, especially in Scotland”
16th–17th Century
Scots
dirk
“a dagger or poniard”
Middle Scots / Gaelic
Scots Gaelic
dearg / deirc?
“uncertain intermediary forms sometimes proposed in older speculation, but not securely established”
Old Norse / Germanic
Germanic
þirk- / þyrk-?
“uncertain proposed connections to pointed or thrusting weapons, not firmly proven”
Proto-Indo-European
PIE
*derḱ-
“to see, look at; a proposed distant root in some speculative discussions, but not a secure etymology for dirk”