assegai

 
Pronunciation: /ˈasəgʌɪ/
(also assagai)

noun (plural assegais)

  • 1a slender, iron-tipped, hardwood spear used chiefly by southern African peoples.
  • 2 (also assegai wood) a South African tree of the dogwood family, which yields hard timber.
    • Curtisia dentata, family Cornaceae

verb (assegais, assegaing, assegaied)

[with object]
  • wound or kill with an assegai: he was a very brave man but he was eventually assegaied

Origin:

early 17th century: from obsolete French azagaie or Portuguese azagaia, from Arabic az-zaġāyah, from az, al 'the' + Berber zaġāyah 'spear'