Etymology

stiletto

S1T1I1L1E1T1T1O1

Today it means: A small, slender knife or dagger-like weapon intended for stabbing. Full definition →

First used 16th–17th c.Italian stiletto ← Latin stilu ← Proto-Italic *stiglos?
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The story

  1. Proto-Indo-European*(s)teyg-
  2. Proto-Italic*stiglos?
  3. Latinstilu
  4. Italianstilo
  5. Italianstiletto
  6. English todaystiletto

Unadapted borrowing from Italian stiletto. By surface analysis, stilus + Italian -etto. Doublet of stilet and stylet.

Words from the same roots

Italianstiletto all →

stylet

First known use, by meaning

  • 16th–17th c. A beard trimmed into a pointed form.

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.