dagger
part of speech
noun (a dagger, daggers)
meaning for a pupil
1) A dagger is a short knife with a pointed blade, made as a weapon for stabbing. tree →
2) (printing) A dagger (†) is a small mark used in books to point to a note, or next to a name to show the person has died. tree →
sense in the lessons
In history lessons, daggers appear with Romans, Vikings, knights and pirates. In stories, «look daggers at someone» means to give them a very angry look; «cloak and dagger» means secret and spy-like. Knives and daggers are dangerous; in the UK, Ireland and Australia it is against the law to carry one in public, and school safety lessons explain why. Phrases: «look daggers», «cloak-and-dagger», «at daggers drawn» (ready to fight).
examples
- The Roman soldier carried a short dagger. tree →
- The pirate hid a dagger in his boot. tree →
- My sister looked daggers at me when I told Mum. tree →
- It was a cloak-and-dagger plan to hide the birthday cake. tree →
- The museum has a Viking dagger with a carved handle. tree →
- Carrying a knife or dagger in public is against the law. tree →
- Peter felt for his dagger till his hand gripped it. tree →
note
Plural «daggers». A dagger is shorter than a sword. «Look daggers» is figurative: nobody throws a knife. The † mark is also called an obelus.
Trees and pragmatics
Every meaning and example of «dagger» parsed by Mova, each sentence with its dependency tree and frames.