bat'leth

/ˈbæt.lɪθ//ˈbæt.lɛθ/

noun

A double-ended curved blade weapon with spiked protrusions, controlled by grips along its back, used by Klingons in Star Trek.

Meanings

nounbat'leth (plural bat'leths)

plural bat'leths

  1. literatureA double-ended curved blade weapon with spiked protrusions, controlled by grips along its back, used by Klingons in Star Trek.

    It is a bat'leth. It belonged to my father... It has been in our family for ten generations.

    1990 November 5, “Reunion”, in Star Trek: The Next Generation, season 4, episode 7, spoken by Worf (Michael Dorn)
    3 more examples

    The U.K. is looking to clean up its streets with a knife amnesty program, so you can imagine their surprise when a Klingon, er, excuse me, a Klingon fan, turned in a replica Bat’leth over the weekend.

    2008 August 25, Jack Loftus, “U.K. Knife Amnesty Program Turns Up Klingon Bat’leth, No Sign of Worf”, in Gizmodo Australia, archived from the original on 04 Mar 2016

    Officers searched the area but didn't find the robber or the weapon, which was described as a "bat'leth."

    2009 February 4, Kieran Nicholson, “Klingon sword used in two Colorado Springs heists”, in Denver Post, archived from the original on 30 Jul 2017

    Howard: Why did you bring that? Sheldon: No weapon strikes more fear into a man's heart than a Klingon bat'leth. Leonard: OK, let's get clear on something. We just gonna tell this guy to transfer all your stuff back into your account and then be on our way. No one's bat'lething anybody.

    2011 March 31, “The Zarnecki Incursion” (15:59), in The Big Bang Theory, season 4, episode 19, spoken by Howard Wolowitz, Sheldon Cooper, and Leonard Hofstadter (Simon Helberg, Jim Parsons, and Johnny Galecki)

Origin

  1. KlingonbetleH
  2. Englishbat'leth

Borrowed from Klingon betleH, short for batlh'etlh (“sword of honor”).

Full word history & related roots →
Cite this entry
APA

bat'leth. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/bat'leth

MLA

“bat'leth.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/bat'leth. Accessed November 4, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “bat'leth,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/bat'leth.

Source: bat'leth on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.