Dirk

A dirk is a long-bladed thrusting dagger.^[1] Historically, it gained its name from the Highland dirk (Scottish Gaelic dearg) where it was a personal weapon of officers engaged in naval hand-to-hand combat during the Age of Sail^[2] as well as the personal sidearm of Highlanders. It was also the traditional sidearm of the Highland Clansman and later used by the officers, pipers, and drummers of Scottish Highland regiments around 1725 to 1800^[1] and by Japanese naval officers.^[3]

Etymology

The term is associated with Scotland in the Early Modern Era, being attested from about 1600. The term was spelled dork or dirk during the 17th century,^[4] presumed related to the Danish, Dutch and Swedish dolk, and the German dolch, tolch; from a West Slavic Tillich. The exact etymology is unclear.^[5]^[6]^[7]^[8] The modern spelling dirk is probably due to Samuel Johnson's 1755 Dictionary.^[9] The term is also used for "dagger" generically, especially in the context of prehistoric daggers such as the Oxborough dirk.

Highland dirk

The Scottish dirk (also "Highland dirk", Scottish Gaelic: biodag), as a symbolic traditional and ceremonial weapon of the Highland Cathairean (cateran or warrior), is worn by officers, pipers and drummers of Scottish Highland regiments. The development of the Scottish dirk as a weapon is unrelated to that of the naval dirk; it is a modern continuation of the 16th-century ballock or rondel dagger.^{[citation needed]}

The traditional Scottish dirk is a probable development from the 16th century but like all medieval societies, the Highlander needed a knife for everyday use. The dirk became symbolic of a Highland man’s honour and oaths were sworn on the steel which was believed to be holy. The following highlights the importance of the dirk in Highland culture:^[10]

The dirk occupies a unique niche in Highland culture and history. Many Highland Scots were too cash-poor to buy a sword, following the Disarming Acts enacted to erode Highland martial insurrections but virtually every male carried a dirk—and carried it everywhere! If in Japan the katana was the soul of the Samurai, in Scotland the dirk was the heart of the Highlander. In many warrior cultures oaths were sworn on one's sword. Among the Gael, however, binding oaths with the force of a geas (involving dire supernatural penalties for breaking such an oath) were sworn on one's dirk. The English, aware of this, used the custom against the Highlanders after Culloden: When Highland dress was prohibited in 1747 those Gael who could not read or sign an oath were required to swear a verbal oath, "in the Irish (Scots Gaelic) tongue and upon the holy iron of their dirks", not to possess any gun, sword, or pistol, or to use tartan: "... and if I do so may I be cursed in my undertakings, family and property, may I be killed in battle as a coward, and lie without burial in a strange land, far from the graves of my forefathers and kindred; may all this come across me if I break my oath."

During the period of proscription, only service in a British regiment permitted Highlanders to bear their traditional arms and dress. The 78th Fraser Highlanders, raised in 1757, wore full highland dress uniform;^[11] their equipment was described by Major-General James Stewart in 1780 as including a "musket and broadsword, to which many soldiers added the dirk at their own expense."^[11]^[12]

When worn, the dirk normally hangs by a leather strap known as a "frog" from a dirk belt, which is a wide leather belt having a large, usually ornate buckle, that is worn around the waist with a kilt.^[13] Many Scottish dirks carry a smaller knife and fork which fit into compartments on the front of the sheath,^[14] and a smaller knife known as a sgian dubh is also worn tucked into the top of the hose when wearing a kilt.^[15]

Naval dirk

A thrusting weapon, the naval dirk originally functioned as a boarding weapon and as a functional fighting dagger.^[2] During the days of sail, midshipmen and officers wore dirks; the daggers gradually evolved into ceremonial weapons and badges of office.^[2] In the Royal Navy, the naval dirk is still presented to junior officers; the basic design of the weapon has changed little in the last 500 years.^[2]

The naval dirk (Polish: kordzik, Russian: кортик) became part of the uniform of naval officers and civilian officials in the Navy Ministry of the Russian Empire, and in the Soviet navy an element of the dress uniform of officers.^{[citation needed]} Later, it became an element of other uniforms as well, e.g. of officers in the Russian and Polish army and air force and of the police forces in some^[which?] countries.^{[clarification needed]}^{[citation needed]}

In the United States, the dirk was introduced by Scottish immigrants in the 1700s. Dirks were originally a single-edged weapon. By 1745, however, the weapon was more commonly had a double-edged blade; this makes the dirk more or less synonymous with the dagger. Dirks were often made from old sword blades. In the nineteenth century dirks started to be made with a curved blade, but returned to a straight blade by the end of the century. Some were long enough to be considered a short sword.^[16]

References

^ ^a ^b Chisholm, Hugh (ed.); "Dagger", Encyclopædia Britannica, 11th ed., Vol. VII, New York, NY: Cambridge University Press (1910), p. 729.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d O'Brian, Patrick; Men-of-War: Life in Nelson's Navy, New York: W. W. Norton & Co., ISBN 0-393-03858-0 (1974), p. 35.
^ The imperial Japanese navy, Author Frederick Thomas Jane, Publisher W. Thacker & co., 1904 P.276
^ Head, T. F.; The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology Oxford University Press (1996) ISBN 0-19-283098-8.
^ Hoad, T. F.; The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology Oxford University Press (1996) ISBN 0-19-283098-8.
^ Hensleigh, Wedgwood; A dictionary of English etymology, 1859.
^ Collins English Dictionary 21st Century Edition Harper Collins (2001) ISBN 0-00-472529-8.
^ Robinson, M. (ed.) (1985). The Concise Scots Dictionary. Chambers. ISBN 0-08-028491-4.
^ Johnson, Samuel (1755). A Dictionary of the English Language. Vol. 1 (1st ed.). London: W. Strahan. 597. Dirk. n. s. [an Earse word.] A kind of dagger used in the Highlands of Scotland. 'In vain thy hungry mountaineers Come forth in all their warlike geers, The shield, the pistol, the dirk, and dagger, In which they daily wont to swagger.' Tickell
^ Seago, Dale (1999). The Weapons and Fighting Methods of the Highland Scots: A Study of the Historical Swordsmanship and Warfare Practices of the Scottish Highlanders.
^ ^a ^b Browne, James; A History of the Highlands and of the Highland Clans, Vol. IV, Edinburgh, Scotland: A. Fullarton & Co. (1838), p. 250.
^ Grant, James; British Battles on Land and Sea, Vol. II, London: Cassell, Petter & Galpin (1873), p. 82.
^ Van Witsen, Leo; Costuming for Opera: Who Wears What and Why, Vol. 2, Bloomington: Indiana University Press, ISBN 0-8108-2933-9 (1994), p. 133.
^ Whitelaw, C. E.; Scottish History & Life: Scottish Weapons, Glasgow: James Maclehose & Sons (1902), p. 238.
^ MacGregor, Geddes; Scotland: An Intimate Portrait (1st ed.), Boston: Houghton Mifflin Co., ISBN 0-395-56236-8, ISBN 978-0-395-56236-9 (1980), p. 40.
^ Nicholas J. Johnson, David B. Kopel, George A. Mocsary, E. Gregory Wallace, Donald E. Kilmer. Firearms Law and the Second Amendment: Regulation, Rights, and Policy, Wolters Kluwer Law & Business, 2021 ISBN 1543826814.

External links

Spotlight: The Scottish Dirk (myArmoury.com article)

[CHI-1] Chisholm, Hugh (ed.); "Dagger", Encyclopædia Britannica, 11th ed., Vol. VII, New York, NY: Cambridge University Press (1910), p. 729.

[OBP-2] O'Brian, Patrick; Men-of-War: Life in Nelson's Navy, New York: W. W. Norton & Co., ISBN 0-393-03858-0 (1974), p. 35.

[3] The imperial Japanese navy, Author Frederick Thomas Jane, Publisher W. Thacker & co., 1904 P.276

[PET-4] Head, T. F.; The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology Oxford University Press (1996) ISBN 0-19-283098-8.

[OET-5] Hoad, T. F.; The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology Oxford University Press (1996) ISBN 0-19-283098-8.

[6] Hensleigh, Wedgwood; A dictionary of English etymology, 1859.

[Collins-7] Collins English Dictionary 21st Century Edition Harper Collins (2001) ISBN 0-00-472529-8.

[Scots-8] Robinson, M. (ed.) (1985). The Concise Scots Dictionary. Chambers. ISBN 0-08-028491-4.

[9] Johnson, Samuel (1755). A Dictionary of the English Language. Vol. 1 (1st ed.). London: W. Strahan. 597. Dirk. n. s. [an Earse word.] A kind of dagger used in the Highlands of Scotland. 'In vain thy hungry mountaineers Come forth in all their warlike geers, The shield, the pistol, the dirk, and dagger, In which they daily wont to swagger.' Tickell

[10] Seago, Dale (1999). The Weapons and Fighting Methods of the Highland Scots: A Study of the Historical Swordsmanship and Warfare Practices of the Scottish Highlanders.

[BRO-11] Browne, James; A History of the Highlands and of the Highland Clans, Vol. IV, Edinburgh, Scotland: A. Fullarton & Co. (1838), p. 250.

[GRA-12] Grant, James; British Battles on Land and Sea, Vol. II, London: Cassell, Petter & Galpin (1873), p. 82.

[13] Van Witsen, Leo; Costuming for Opera: Who Wears What and Why, Vol. 2, Bloomington: Indiana University Press, ISBN 0-8108-2933-9 (1994), p. 133.

[14] Whitelaw, C. E.; Scottish History & Life: Scottish Weapons, Glasgow: James Maclehose & Sons (1902), p. 238.

[15] MacGregor, Geddes; Scotland: An Intimate Portrait (1st ed.), Boston: Houghton Mifflin Co., ISBN 0-395-56236-8, ISBN 978-0-395-56236-9 (1980), p. 40.

[16] Nicholas J. Johnson, David B. Kopel, George A. Mocsary, E. Gregory Wallace, Donald E. Kilmer. Firearms Law and the Second Amendment: Regulation, Rights, and Policy, Wolters Kluwer Law & Business, 2021 ISBN 1543826814.

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v t e Knives and daggers
List of daggers List of blade materials
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Other knives	Aircrew Survival Egress Knife Athame Balisong/Butterfly Ballistic Ballpoint pen knife Bayonet Boline Bolo Boot knife Bowie Cane knife Ceramic knife Clip point Combat knife Commander Corvo CQC-6 Deba bōchō Diving knife Drop point Fairbairn–Sykes fighting knife Gerber Mark II Ginsu Golok Gravity knife Guna Hacking knife Higonokami Hunting knife Husa knife Ivan's Knife Jacob's ladder Karambit Kard Kirpan Kitchen knife Kukri Laguiole knife Machete Mandau Marking knife Misericorde Mora knife Multi-tool Navaja Neck knife Nontron knife Opinel knife Palette knife Pantographic knife Parang Penknife Penny knife Pesh-kabz Pirah Pocketknife Phurba Putty knife Puukko Rampuri Resolza Sabatier Sami knife SARK Scalpel Seax Sgian dubh Sharpfinger Sheath knife Shiv Sliding knife Smatchet SOG Knife Straight razor Strider SMF Survival knife Swiss Army knife Switchblade Taping knife Throwing knife Trench knife Tumi Ulu Utility knife Verlängerungsmesser Warrior knife Wedung X-Acto Yarara Parachute Knife Yatagan
Daggers	Anelace Applegate–Fairbairn fighting knife Arkansas toothpick BC-41 Bagh nakh Balarao Baselard Bichuwa Bollock dagger Cinquedea Dha Dirk Ear dagger Emeici Facón French Nail Gunong Hunting dagger Jambiya Jile Kabutowari Kaiken Kalis Katar Khanjali Khanjar Kris Kunai Liaoning dagger Mark I trench knife Microtech Jagdkommando Parrying dagger Poignard Pugio Push dagger Rondel dagger Seme Shobo Sica Stiletto Tantō U.S. Marine Raider stiletto V-42 Yoroi-dōshi
Manufacturers	Aitor Knife Company Al Mar Knives American Tomahawk Company Aritsugu Benchmade Böker Buck Knives Camillus Cutlery Company Cattaraugus Cutlery Company Chris Reeve Knives Chroma Cnife Clauss Cutlery Company Cobray Company Cold Steel Columbia River Knife & Tool Cuisinart Cutco Dalian Hanwei Metal Dexter-Russell Ek Commando Knife Co. EKA Emerson Knives F. Dick Fällkniven FAMAE Fiskars Gerber Legendary Blades Füritechnics Glock Ges.m.b.H. Imperial Schrade Ivan's Ka-Bar Kershaw Knives KitchenAid Korin Japanese Trading Company Kyocera Leatherman Mad Dog Knives Marble Arms Medford Knife and Tool Microtech Knives Morseth Muela Murphy Knives OLFA Ontario Knife Company Opinel Randall Made Knives Ranz Cuchillos Rösle Sabatier Shun Cutlery Slice, Inc. SOG Specialty Knives Spyderco STI Knives Strider Knives Thiers Issard TOPS Knives Tramontina Victorinox W. R. Case & Sons Cutlery Co. Carl Walther GmbH Wenger Western Knife Company Wilkinson Sword Wüsthof Yoshida Metal Industry Global Zero Tolerance Knives Zwilling J. A. Henckels
Knifemakers	Rex Applegate James Black Tom Brown Jr. Blackie Collins John Nelson Cooper Jack W. Crain Ernest Emerson Jerry Fisk Bill Harsey Jr. Phill Hartsfield Gil Hibben Jimmy Lile Bob Loveless William F. Moran Ken Onion Ralph Osterhout Bo Randall Chris Reeve A. G. Russell Jody Samson William Scagel Mike Snody Robert Terzuola Michael Walker Buster Warenski Daniel Winkler
Associations	American Bladesmith Society Cutlery and Allied Trades Research Association Knifemakers' Guild
Category:Knives / Daggers

Etymology

Highland dirk

Naval dirk

See also

References

External links