English Explanatory Dictionary

assegai

English dictionary entry

Meanings

noun
  1. A slim hardwood spear or javelin with an iron tip, especially those used by Bantu peoples of Southern Africa.
  2. The tree species Curtisia dentata, the wood of which is traditionally used to make assegais.
verb
  1. To spear with an assegai.

Pronunciation

/ˈæsəɡaɪ/

Word forms

assegai assegais assagai assagaie assagay assegaai assegay azagaia hassagay hassaguay zagaie zagaye assegaiing assegaied

Etymology

From French azagaie (now zagaie) or Portuguese azagaia, Spanish azagaya, and later in the forms that have become most common borrowed from Afrikaans assegaai, from colloquial Arabic اَلزَّغَايَة (az-zaḡāya), from Proto-Berber *zaġāya (“spear”).

Related words

Curtisia
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