skean-dhu

plural skean-dhus

1. alternativeAlternative spelling of sgian dubh.

   The hasps, which were evidently intended to be secured by padlocks, had lost their fastenings, which were supplied by two skean-dhus—the small dagger of the Highlander—which had been thrust through the iron loops, and kept the casket perfectly water-tight.

   1839, [George Robert Gleig], “Legends of the Lochs and Glens. No. I.—The Linn of the Caldron.”, in Bentley’s Miscellany, volume V, London: Richard Bentley, […], →OCLC, page 411

   1 more example

   It is to be noted that the Dagger does not become a regular feature of knightly accoutrement till the middle of the fourteenth century. [...] A very usual form, both in military and civilian circles, was the Ballok Knife (moderns term it a "kidney dagger"), a type that persisted till the sixteenth century, and whose modern analogue is the Highland dirk (skean-dhu).

   1931, Francis M. Kelly, Randolph Schwabe, “‘Mixed’ Armour (Late)”, in A Short History of Costume & Armour, Mineola, N.Y.: Dover Publications, published 2002, →ISBN, part II (Armour), pages 67–68