Mattucashlass
{{short description|Armpit dagger used as part of traditional Scottish Highland dress}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2022}}
A mattucashlass is a type of dagger worn concealed in the armpit and primarily used for close combat, part of traditional Scottish male Highland dress.Duane, William A Military Dictionary Philadelphia, 1810 It is also referred to as an armpit dagger or a sleeve dagger in English. In Scots, the alternative name skene-ochil or skene-occles can also be found.{{cite web |url=http://www.dsl.ac.uk/entry/snd/skean |title=skean |author= |date= |website= |publisher=Dictionary of the Scots Language |access-date=1 May 2016 |quote=}}
Etymology
The term mattucashlass derives from {{langx|gd|biodag-achlais}}{{cite web |url=http://www.faclair.com/?txtSearch=dagger |title=Dagger |author= |date= |website= |publisher=Am Faclair Beag |access-date=1 May 2016 |quote=}} ({{IPA|gd|pit̪akˈaxl̪ˠɪʃ}}, {{lang|gd|biodag}} meaning "dagger" and {{lang|gd|achlais}} "armpit") presumably via the dialectal by-form {{lang|gd|miodag}}, which is attested in Shaw's 1788 Galic and English Dictionary.Shaw, William Galic and English Dictionary 1780
It is also known in Gaelic as the {{lang|gd|sgian-achlais}} ({{lang|gd|sgian}} meaning "knife"),{{cite web |url=http://www.faclair.com/?txtSearch=sgian-achlais |title=Sgian-achlais |author= |date= |website= |publisher=Am Faclair Beag |access-date=1 May 2016 |quote=}} from which the Scots term {{lang|sco|skene-ochil}} or {{lang|sco|skene-occles}} is derived.
See also
- {{lang|gd|Sgian-dubh}}