Meanings
bowie knife1
Bowie knife2
plural Bowie knives · alternative bowie knife · alternative bowie-knife
- A large sheath knife, usually of clip point style and usually with large guards at the ricasso.
To ensure good behavior, the slaveholder relies on the whip; […] to imbrute and destroy his manhood, he relies on the whip, the chain, the gag, the thumb-screw, the pillory, the bowie-knife, the pistol, and the blood-hound.
1855, Frederick Douglass, My Bondage and My Freedom. […], New York; Auburn, N.Y.: Miller, Orton & Mulligan […], →OCLC, part II (Life as a Freeman), page 430Synonyms: California toothpick, Missouri toothpick
Synonyms & antonyms
nounA large sheath knife, usually of clip point style and usually with large guards at the ricasso.
Origin
Named after American pioneer and soldier James Bowie (1796–1836) (/ˈbuːi/) who famously used such a knife as a weapon in a duel.
Full word history & related roots →Cite this entry
bowie knife. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/bowie%20knife
“bowie knife.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/bowie%20knife. Accessed November 4, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “bowie knife,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/bowie%20knife.
Source: bowie knife on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.