online medical dictionary | definition of bodkin

1. A dagger. "When he himself might his quietus make With a bare bodkin." (Shak)

2. An implement of steel, bone, ivory, etc, with a sharp point, for making holes by piercing; a tiletto; an eyeleteer.

3. A sharp tool, like an awl, used for picking ut letters from a column or page in making corrections.

4. A kind of needle with a large eye and a blunt point, for drawing tape, ribbon, etc, through a loop or a hem; a tape needle. "Wedged whole ages in a bodkin's eye." (Pope)

5. A kind of pin used by women to fasten the hair. To sit, ride, or travel bodkin, to sit closely wedged between two persons.

Origin: OE. Boydekyn dagger; of uncertain origin; cf. W. Bidog hanger, short sword, Ir. Bideog, Gael. Biodag.

(01 Mar 1998)