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Dagger vs Digger - What's the difference?

dagger | digger |

As nouns the difference between dagger and digger

is that dagger is a stabbing weapon, similar to a sword but with a short, double-edged blade while digger is a large piece of machinery that digs holes or trenches; an excavator.

As a verb dagger

is to pierce with a dagger; to stab.

dagger

English

Etymology 1

Probably from (etyl) dague (1229), related to (etyl), (etyl), (etyl) daga , (etyl) Degen, (etyl) . In English attested from the 1380s. The ultimate origin of the word is unclear. Grimm Grimm suspects Celtic origin. Others have suggested derivation from an unattested Vulgar Latin http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dacia. Chastelain (Dictionaire etymologique'', 1750) thought that French ''dague'' was a derivation from German ''dagge'', ''dagen , although not attested until a much later date). The knightly dagger evolves from the 12th century. Guillaume le Breton (died 1226) uses daca'' in his ''Philippide''. Other Middle Latin forms include ''daga, dagga, dagha, dagger, daggerius, daggerium, dagarium, dagarius, diga''http://ducange.enc.sorbonne.fr/DAGGER; the forms with ''-r- are late 14th century adoptions of the English word). OED points out that there is also an English verb from which this could be a derivation, but the verb is attested only from about 1400. Relation to Old Armenian .

Noun

(en noun)
  • (weapon) A stabbing weapon, similar to a sword but with a short, double-edged blade.
  • * , Act I, Scene I, line 282.
    • I bruised my shin th’ other day with playing at sword and dagger with a master of fence; ...
  • * 1786 , , A Treatise on Ancient Armour and Weapons , page 34.
    • The dagger , under the title cultellum and misericorde, has been the constant companion of the sword, at least from the days of Edward I. and is mentioned in the statute of Winchester.
  • The text character ; the obelus.
    • Synonyms
    * (stabbing weapon): dirk, knife * (text character): obelisk, obelus * (anything that causes pain like a dagger) barb
    Derived terms
    * at daggers drawn * cloak-and-dagger * double dagger * look daggers * speak daggers * stare daggers
    See also
    * poniard * rondel * stiletto

    Verb

    (en verb)
  • To pierce with a dagger; to stab.

    • Etymology 2

    Perhaps from (diagonal).

    Noun

    (en noun)
  • A timber placed diagonally in a ship's frame.
    • (Knight)

    Anagrams

    *

    References

    digger

    English

    Noun

    (en noun)
  • A large piece of machinery that digs holes or trenches; an excavator.
  • A tool for digging.
  • * 2009 , Sharon Bomgaars, The Best Clubhouse Ever , page 143,
    • The post hole digger did look ancient. I was pretty certain myself that it hadn?t dug any holes for a long, long time.
  • A spade (playing card).
  • One who digs.
  • * 1997 , Barbara J. Wrede, Civilizing Your Puppy , page 75,
    • You?ve tried the supposedly sure method of squirting the digger' with water from a hose, and that hasn?t worked.This step will discourage 99 percent of the ' diggers .
  • * 2005 , Gary R. Sampson, Dick Wolfsie, Dog Dilemmas: Simple Solutions to Everyday Problems , page 130,
    • Most retrievers are not inveterate diggers — that?s a trait usually reserved for other breeds like wire-haired terriers and schnauzers.
  • (Australia, obsolete) A gold miner, one who digs for gold.
  • * 1853 , (editor), Household Words , Volume 21, page 64,
    • A successful Australian digger — successful, not merely in siftings and washings, but bearing the title, and its best credentials, of a “nuggetter” ? came down from Forest Creek recently and took up his abode in a low lodging-house in Little Bourke Street, Melbourne.
  • (Australia, dated) An informal nickname for a friend; used as a term of endearment .
  • (Australia, informal) An Australian soldier.
  • * 1998 , Helen Gilbert, Sightlines: Race, Gender, and Nation in Contemporary Australian Theatre , page 191,
    • Costume played a key part in his differentiation from British soldiers as the Digger uniform came to embody Australian versions of masculinity and mateship.
  • * 2002 , Jeff Doyle, Jeffrey Grey, Peter Pierce, Australia's Vietnam War , page xxiii,
    • For many, the congruencies of the Anzac legend and the diggers who served in Vietnam were slight, too slight, and the legend seemed unable to accommodate them.
  • * 2004 , Lisanne Gibson, Joanna Besley, Monumental Queensland: Signposts on a Cultural Landscape , page 99,
    • Like many other Queensland communities, the workers from the North Ipswich Railway Workshops chose a statue of a soldier, or digger , to honour their fellow workers.

    Derived terms

    * gold digger, golddigger * gravedigger * mini digger

    Anagrams

    * English agent nouns