Copyright © Philip M. Parker, INSEAD. Terms of Use.
Definition: Bayonet |
BayonetNoun1. A knife that can be fixed to the end of a rifle and used as a weapon. Verb1. Stab or kill someone with a bayonet. Source: WordNet 1.7.1 Copyright © 2001 by Princeton University. All rights reserved. |
Date "bayonet" was first used in popular English literature: sometime before 1759. (references) |
| Domain | Definition |
Dream Interpretation | To dream of a bayonet, signifies that enemies will hold you in their power, unless you get possession of the bayonet. Source: Ten Thousand Dreams Interpreted .... |
Literature | Bayonet So called from La Bayonette, a lower ridge of the Montage d'Arrhune. A Basque regiment, early in the seventeenth century, running short of powder, stuck their knives into their muskets; and charged the Spaniards with success. Some derive this word from Bayonne. Source: Brewer's Dictionary. |
Mechanical Engineering | System which inserts a piece into another which has no thread, but two small pins which fit into two lateral grooves. Source: European Union. (references) |
Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits. | |
(From Wikipedia, the free Encyclopedia)
A Bayonet is a knife or dagger-shaped weapon designed to fit on or over the muzzle of a rifle or similar weapon. It is a close combat weapon.
Its evolution can be traced to a certain extent to a fortuitous accident. In the mid seventeenth century irregular conflicts of rural France, the peasants of the Southern French town of Bayonne, having run out of powder and shot, rammed their long bladed hunting knives into the muzzles of their primative muskets to fashion impromptu spears, and by necessity created an ancillary weapon that was to influence Western European infantry tactics until the early 20th century.
The benefit of such a dual-purpose arm contained in one was soon apparent. The early muskets fired at a slow rate (about a round a minute when loading with loose powder and ball), and were unreliable. Bayonets provided a useful addition to the weapon-system when an enemy charging to contact could cross the musket's killing ground (a range of approx 100 yardss/metres at the most optimistic) at the expense of perhaps only one volley from their waiting opponents. A foot long bayonet (extending to a regulation 17 incheses (approx 43 centimetres) during the Napoleonic period, on a 6 foot (almost 2 meter) tall musket achieved a reach similar to the infantry spear, and later halberd, of earlier times.
Early bayonets were of the "plug" type. The bayonet had a round handle that fit directly into the musket barrel. This naturally prevented the gun from being fired.
Later "socket" bayonets offset the blade from the muzzle. The bayonet attached over the outside of the barrel with a ring-shaped socket, secured on later models by a spring -loaded catch on the muzzle of the musket barrel.
Many socket bayonets were triangular in order to privide sideways stability of the blade without much increase in weight. This design of bayonet did not include a handle to use the blade apart from the gun.
18th century and 19th century military tactics included various massed bayonet charges and defenses. The British Army was particulary known for its bayonet use, although towards the early ninteenth century and the flowering of Napoleonic warfare, the primacy of regular and speedy volley-fire saw the British eclipse their opponents in line to line infantry combat.
There are rumours among old (pre World War I) soldiers of exotic bayonet techniques, almost as complex and involved as sword-fighting. Supposedly, rather than just the modern simplified blocks and thrusts, there were also cuts, counters and disarms, in which a sliding block would lead to an attack or disarmament. Supposedly, these techniques also taught use of edge and point, and special vulnerabilities such as wrists, ankles, neck, brachial and femoral arteries. Further, all types of moves are said to have been practiced in every orientation, and relative position of the two fighters' weapons, in training methods similar to advanced sword-fighting. These techniques were possible because of the long periods of continued training of the professional armies before this period.
A late 19th century Prussian bayonet. A public domain image.
In the Geneva Accords on Humane Warfare, triangular and cross-sectional bayonets were outlawed because the wounds they produce do not close easily, and were said to be inhumane. Despite these limitations, all modern bayonets have a blood groove (visible on the top half of the blade shown above), which is a concave depression in the blade designed to prevent the elastic properties of the human body from thwarting a successful bayonet thrust. Such a groove also facilitates removal of the bayonet after insertion, although this does nothing to help in cases where the blade is jammed in bone (for which reason the British Army's first rule of bayonet fighting during the First World War - aim at the breastbone - was inappropriate).
In modern warfare, bayonets are rarely useful as weapons because most combat occurs at a distance. However a bayonet remains useful as a utility knife, and as an aid to combat morale. Despite the limitations of the bayonet, it is still issued in most armies and most armies still train with them. The modern sawback U.S. M9 Bayonet is issued with a special sheath designed to double as a wire cutter. The M9 Bayonet replaces both the M7 Bayonet of the 1960s and the Ka-bar fighting knive of WWII.
Modern bayonets are often knife-shaped with handles and a socket, or permanently attached to the rifle as with the SKS. The push-twist motion of fastening the modern bayonet has given name to several connectors and contacts including the BNC ("Bayonet Neill-Concelman") connector.
Source: adapted by the editor from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia under a copyleft GNU Free Documentation License (GFDL) from the article "Bayonet."
| Context | Synonyms within Context (source: adapted from Roget's Thesaurus). |
Arms | Sword, saber, broadsword, cutlass, falchion, scimitar, cimeter, brand, whinyard, bilbo, glaive, glave, rapier, skean, Toledo, Ferrara, tuck, claymore, adaga, baselard, Lochaber ax, skean dhu, creese, kris, dagger, dirk, banger, poniard, stiletto, stylet, dudgeon, bayonet; sword-bayonet, sword-stick; side arms, foil, blade, steel; ax, bill; pole-ax, battle-ax; gisarme, halberd, partisan, tomahawk, bowie knife; ataghan, attaghan, yataghan; yatacban; assagai, assegai; good sword, trusty sword, naked sword; cold steel. |
Attack | Cut and thrust, bayonet, butt; kick, strike; (impulse); whip; (punish). |
Compulsion | Adverb: by force; Noun: by force of arms; on compulsion, perforce; vi et armis, under the lash; at the point of the sword, at the point of the bayonet; forcibly; by a strong arm. |
Killing | Saber; cut down, cut to pieces, cut the throat; jugulate; stab, run through the body, bayonet, eviscerate; put to the sword, put to the edge of the sword. |
Severity | At the point of the sword, at the point of the bayonet. |
Violence | Adverb: violently; Adjective: amain; by storm, by force, by main force; with might and main; tooth and nail, vi et armis, at the point of the sword, at the point of the bayonet; at one fell swoop; with a high hand, through thick and thin; in desperation, with a vengeance; a outrance, a toute outrance; headlong, head foremost. |
Warfare | Adverb: flagrante bello, in the thick of the fray, in the cannon's mouth; at the sword's point, at the point of the bayonet. |
| Source: adapted from Roget's Thesaurus. | |
Crosswords: Bayonet |
| English words defined with "bayonet": A stand of arms ♦ Bayonet joint, Bayoneted, Bayoneting ♦ pike ♦ scabbard, Side arms, Spade bayonet, Spanish daggers, Sword bayonet ♦ Unfix. (references) |
| Specialty definitions using "bayonet": As well as ♦ bayonet pin, BNC, But ♦ Camp Candlestick, Cold Steel, Controversy ♦ Infernal Column ♦ Nor ♦ Or ♦ Save ♦ Twist Locks. (references) |
| Non-English Usage: "Bayonet" is also a word in the following languages with English translations in parentheses. Indonesian (bayonet), Turkish (bayonet). |
| Domain | Usage | |
Screenplays | A prayer's as good as bayonet on a day like this (Zulu; writing credit: John Prebble;) And a bayonet sir, with some guts behind (Zulu; writing credit: John Prebble;) Took a bayonet in the lungs (Lethal Weapon; writing credit: Shane Black) | |
Movie/TV Titles | The Steel Bayonet (1957) | |
Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits. | ||
| Domain | Title | ||
Books |
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Consumer Goods | |||
Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits. | |||
| Thumbnail | Description & Credit | Thumbnail | Description & Credit |
 | Topo work among the Spanish bayonet Off of Launch ELSIE. Credit: Coast & Geodetic Survey Historical Image Collection. |  | Carrying tower sections through the Spanish bayonet Installation party for microwave navigation system Party off of WHITING. Credit: Coast & Geodetic Survey Historical Image Collection. |
 | Afro-American soldier charging with bayonet fixed, in combat training, U.S. Naval training center, Great Lakes, Ill. Credit: Library of Congress. |  | Members of the Black Watch regiment crouch in a trench while others jump across overhead during training for bayonet charge. Credit: Library of Congress. |
 | U.S.S. Brooklyn, Marine guard bayonet drill. Credit: Library of Congress. |  | Bayonet charge of the 2nd reg. Col. Hall. Excelsior Brigade. Fair Oaks June 1862. Credit: Library of Congress. |
 | Conversion. Silverware plant. Engineers and tool experts of a large Eastern silverware manufacturing company discuss blueprints on a bayonet order to be produced for the Army. Bayonet shown is the Springfield rifle type. The determination of management an. Credit: Library of Congress. |  | Fort Belvoir, Virginia. Sergeant George Camblair learning to use the bayonet. Credit: Library of Congress. |
 | 28th Division exibition [sic] bayonet drill in honor Sect. Lansing, Camp Hancock, Ga., Capt. Ryan, Division Supt., Capt. Stackpole, Division Instructor. Credit: Library of Congress. |  | The victory of Roanoke, Feby. 8th. 1862: the brilliant and decisive bayonet charge of the New York 9th Hawkins Zouaves. Credit: Library of Congress. |
Source: pictures compiled by the editor from various references; see picture credits. | |||
| Title | Author | Quote |
Les Miserables | Hugo, Victor | The sergeant crossed his bayonet. |
Grapes of Wrath | Steinbeck, John | The sun flared down on the growing corn day after day until a line of brown spread along the edge of each green bayonet. |
Source: compiled by the editor from various references. | ||
| Subject | Topic | Quote |
Lexicography | Devil's Dictionary | CONTROVERSY, n. A battle in which spittle or ink replaces the injurious cannon-ball and the inconsiderate bayonet. In controversy with the facile tongue -- That bloodless warfare of the old and young -- So seek your adversary to engage That on himself he shall exhaust his rage, And, like a snake that's fastened to the ground, With his own fangs inflict the fatal wound. You ask me how this miracle is done? Adopt his own opinions, one by one, And taunt him to refute them; in his wrath He'll sweep them pitilessly from his path. Advance then gently all you wish to prove, Each proposition prefaced with, "As you've So well remarked," or, "As you wisely say, And I cannot dispute," or, "By the way, This view of it which, better far expressed, Runs through your argument." Then leave the rest To him, secure that he'll perform his trust And prove your views intelligent and just. Conmore Apel Brune |
Source: compiled by the editor from ICON Group International, Inc.; see credits. | ||
| "Bayonet" is generally used as a noun (singular) -- approximately 98.82% of the time. "Bayonet" is used about 85 times out of a sample of 100 million words spoken or written in English. Its rank is based on over 700,000 words used in the English language. Some parts-of-speech are not covered due to the samples used by the British National Corpus. (note: percents less than one-hundredth of one percent have been omitted) |
| Parts of Speech | Percent | Usage per 100 Million Words | Rank in English |
| Noun (singular) | 98.82% | 84 | 36,109 |
| Noun (proper) | 1.18% | 1 | 339,140 |
| Total | 100.00% | 85 | N/A |
Source: compiled by the editor from several corpora; see credits.
Expressions using "bayonet": at the point of the bayonet ♦ bayonet charge ♦ Bayonet clutch ♦ bayonet drill ♦ Bayonet joint ♦ bayonet mount ♦ bayonet pin ♦ bayonet Point ♦ bayonet socket ♦ bayonet thrust ♦ fix the bayonet ♦ spade bayonet ♦ spanish bayonet ♦ sword bayonet ♦ Trowel bayonet. Additional references. | |
| Hyphenated Usage | |
Beginning with "bayonet": bayonet-drill, bayonet-like, bayonet-marks, bayonet-Neill-Concilman, bayonet-point, bayonet-revolvers, bayonet-sharp. | |
Ending with "bayonet": socket-bayonet, sword-bayonet. | |
| Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits. | |
| The following statistics estimate the number of searches per day across the major English-language search engines as identified by various trade publications. Hyperlinks lead to commercial use of the expression at Amazon.com. |
| Language | Translations for "bayonet"; alternative meanings/domain in parentheses. | |
Afrikaans | bajonet. (various references) | |
Albanian | bajonetë (sword-bayonet), shpoj me bajonetë. (various references) | |
Arabic | حربة (lance, spear), طعن بالحربة, الحربة سلاح قديم. (various references) | |
Bulgarian | щик, мушкам с щит, байонет. (various references) | |
Chinese | 刺刀 . (various references) | |
Czech | bajonet. (various references) | |
Danish | bajonet. (various references) | |
Dutch | bajonet. (various references) | |
Esperanto | bajoneto. (various references) | |
Farsi | سرنیزه , باسرنیزه مجبورکردن . (various references) | |
Finnish | pistin (sting). (various references) | |
French | baïonnette. (various references) | |
German | Seitengewehr, bajonett. (various references) | |
Greek | ξιφολόγχη. (various references) | |
Hebrew | פ'יון (cold steel, dagger, poniard, stiletto), כי"ון (dart, javelin, lance, spear). (various references) | |
Hungarian | bajonett, szurony. (various references) | |
Indonesian | bayonet, sangkur. (various references) | |
Italian | baionetta. (various references) | |
Japanese Kanji | 銃剣 , 剣 (blade, clock hand, sabre, sting, sword). (various references) | |
Japanese Katakana | け" (and, authority, blade, bond, case, certificate, circle, clock hand, concurrently, coupon, economy, emperor, health, heaven, in addition, item, matter, prefecture, range, sabre, sphere, stick-to-itiveness, sting, strength, sword, tendon, the right, ticket), じゅうけ". (various references) | |
Korean | 대검. (various references) | |
Manx | thioll lesh cliwe-gunney, cliwe-gunney. (various references) | |
Papiamen | bayonèt. (various references) | |
Pig Latin | ayonetbay.(various references) | |
Portuguese | baioneta (stake). (various references) | |
Romanian | baionetã (toothpick), strãpunge cu baionetã. (various references) | |
Russian | штык байонетный, штык (bar), колоть штыком. (various references) | |
Serbo-Croatian | bajonet (sword-bayonet), ubosti bajonetom. (various references) | |
Spanish | bayoneta (sword-bayonet). (various references) | |
Swedish | bajonett. (various references) | |
Thai | แทง"้วย"าบปลายปืน, "าบปลายปืน. (various references) | |
Turkish | süngü. (various references) | |
Turkmen | naяza. (various references) | |
Ukrainian | солдати (soldiery), цоколь лампи, штик (sword), колоти багнетом, багнет, примушувати силою зброї. (various references) | |
Vietnamese | lưỡi lê. (various references) | |
Welsh | bidogi, bidog (dagger). (various references) | |
| Source: compiled by the editor from various translation references. | ||
Derivations | |
Words beginning with "bayonet": bayoneted, bayoneting, bayonets, bayonetted, bayonetting. (additional references) | |
| |
"Bayonet" is suggested in spellcheckers for the following: ayont, Bamonte, baonett, Bavoyeu, bayanett, Bayano, Baykonur, bayne, bayoner, bayonete, bayonett, bayonette, beyone, Beyyene, bisonte, boyonet, buyont, rayonnent. (additional references) | |
| Source: compiled by the editor, based on several corpora (additional references). | |
| # of Phoneme Matches | Pronunciation | Word(s) rhyming with "bayonet" (pronounced bā"une't) |
| 3 | -n e' t | dragnet. |
Source: compiled by the editor (additional references); see credits. | ||
Scrabble® Enable2K-Verified Anagrams | |
| Words within the letters "a-b-e-n-o-t-y" | |
-1 letter: betony, botany. | |
-2 letters: atone, atony, banty, baton, beano, beton, boney, ebony, oaten, toney, yenta. | |
-3 letters: abet, abye, aeon, ante, bane, bate, bean, beat, bent, beta, boat, bone, bony, bota, byte, ebon, etna, nabe, neat, nota, note, obey, toby, toea, tone, tony, tyne, yean. | |
-4 letters: abo, aby, ane, ant, any, ate, aye, ban, bat, bay. | |
| Words containing the letters "a-b-e-n-o-t-y" | |
+1 letter: barytone, bayonets. | |
+2 letters: baronetcy, barytones, bayoneted, geobotany. | |
+3 letters: bayoneting, bayonetted, corybantes, noticeably, obeisantly. | |
+4 letters: abhorrently, amblygonite, antiobesity, bayonetting, cybernation, embryonated, ethnobotany, intolerably, observantly, obstinately, openability, paleobotany, treasonably. | |
+5 letters: amblygonites, cybernations, cytomembrane, demonstrably, detonability, exorbitantly, hypnotizable, questionably. | |
| Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits. SCRABBLE® is a registered trademark. All intellectual property rights in and to the game are owned in the U.S.A and Canada by Hasbro Inc., and throughout the rest of the world by J.W. Spear & Sons Limited of Maidenhead, Berkshire, England, a subsidiary of Mattel Inc. Mattel and Spear are not affiliated with Hasbro. | |
| 1. Definition 2. Synonyms 3. Crosswords 4. Usage: Modern | 5. Usage: Commercial 6. Images: Slideshow 7. Images: Photo Album 8. Quotations: Fiction | 9. Quotations: Non-fiction 10. Usage Frequency 11. Expressions 12. Expressions: Internet | 13. Translations: Modern 14. Derivations 15. Rhymes 16. Anagrams | 17. Bibliography |
Copyright © Philip M. Parker, INSEAD. Terms of Use.
