Dictionary

knifelike en · ADJ

Etymology

Etymology tree English knife Proto-Indo-European *leyg-der. Proto-Germanic *līkąder. Proto-Germanic *-līkaz Proto-West Germanic *-līk Old English -līċ Middle English -like English -like English knifelike From knife + -like.

Meanings

1. Resembling a knife or its effects.
   • I hated the man at once. I lost not a moment. I darted my eyes across the table, caught his, and stabbed him with one of those withering knifelike glances that only the descendants of the great can inflict. 1902, Robert Marshall Grade, The Haunted Major:
   • The patient reported a knifelike pain in his abdomen.

Forms