Dirk

The Dirk comes from the Scottish language and refers to a long dagger; sometimes a short sword on a dagger grip as opposed to a knife handle. The spelling dirk dates from the 18th century; In the 17th century it was written dork or durk, possibly a borrowing of the Low German Dulk or Dolk ( the high German Dagger, originally Tulich from a West Slavic ).

The Scottish dirk evolved during the 16th and 17th centuries from the late medieval testicular or rondel dagger. The traditional form was popular as part of the military equipment in the 18th century, the development of the accessory of the formal Highland dress kilt is a development of the 19th century

In contrast to the Germanized " Dirk" the English word dirk has a wider meaning, and includes daggers as part of parade uniforms, especially of fleet officers. In the U.S., the term is used in the so-called dirk knife laws of various states. He usually called a double-edged knife, but even that can vary from state to state.