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Dirk
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==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,<ref name="PET">Head, T. F.; ''The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology'' [[Oxford University Press]] (1996) {{ISBN|0-19-283098-8}}.</ref> presumed related to the Danish, Dutch and Swedish ''dolk'', and the German ''dolch, tolch''; from a West Slavic ''Tillich''. The exact etymology is unclear.<ref name="OET">Hoad, T. F.; ''The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology'' [[Oxford University Press]] (1996) {{ISBN|0-19-283098-8}}.</ref><ref>Hensleigh, Wedgwood; ''A dictionary of English etymology'', 1859.</ref><ref name="Collins">''Collins English Dictionary 21st Century Edition'' Harper Collins (2001) {{ISBN|0-00-472529-8}}.</ref><ref name=Scots>Robinson, M. (ed.) (1985). ''The Concise Scots Dictionary''. Chambers. {{ISBN|0-08-028491-4}}.</ref> The modern spelling ''dirk'' is probably due to [[Samuel Johnson]]'s 1755 ''Dictionary''.<ref>{{Cite book |title=A Dictionary of the English Language |url= http://johnsonsdictionaryonline.com/?page_id=7070&i=597 |publisher= W. Strahan |date=1755 |first=Samuel |last=Johnson |author-link=Samuel Johnson |page=597 |edition=1st |volume=1| location=London |quote='''Dirk'''. n.βs. [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 |no-pp=y}}</ref> The term is also used for "dagger" generically, especially in the context of [[prehistoric daggers]] such as the [[Oxborough dirk]].
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