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assegai

(as′ə gī′)

noun

a slender spear or javelin with an iron tip, used in S Africa
a tree (Curtisia faginea) of the dogwood family, whose hard wood is used to make such spears

Origin: Port azagaia < colloquial Ar az-zaghāya < az, for al, the + Berber zaghāyah, spear, prob. < Berber (cf. Tuareg (a)zegiz, long-armed dagger)

See assegai in American Heritage Dictionary 4

or as·sa·gai

noun

A light spear or lance, especially one with a short shaft and long blade for close combat, used by Bantu peoples of southern Africa.
A southern African tree (Curtisia dentata) having wood used for making spears or lances.

Origin:

Origin: Obsolete French azagaie

Origin: , probably from Old Spanish azagayah

Origin: , from Arabic az-zaġāya

Origin: : al-, the

Origin: + Berber zaġāya, spear

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