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penknife

/ˈpɛnˌnaɪf/ /ˈpɛnnaɪf/

Meanings
noun

Canif

Originally a small utility knife for cutting the points of quill feathers or reeds into nibs to provide or repair writing implements in times before pens with artificial nibs, generally metal, became commercially available in the 19th century. Early versions of penknives commonly were small sheath knives.

Examples :

"The old-fashioned penknife was used by the writer to sharpen his quill for his letters to family. "
L'écrivain utilisait le canif à l'ancienne pour tailler sa plume pour ses lettres à sa famille.
utility item writing utensil history thing
noun

Canif

A small knife designed for safe and convenient storage, typically in the form of a miniature clasp knife, or with blade retractable into the handle. For the most part, such more convenient designs eventually replaced rigid pen knives in cutting quill pens or sharpening pencils.

Examples :

"My grandfather used his penknife to carefully trim the edges of the wooden box. "
Mon grand-père utilisait son canif pour tailler soigneusement les bords de la boîte en bois.
item utensil device technology stationery
noun

Couteau de poche

As the need to cut nibs for pens fell away, but small utility pocket-knives remained popular, "penknife" became synonymous with "pocket-knife". Modern penknives often incorporate other tools such as corkscrews, but as a rule are smaller than general-purpose pocketknives.

Examples :

"My grandfather's old penknife was surprisingly useful for sharpening pencils and carving small pieces of wood for his grandchildren. "
Le vieux couteau de poche de mon grand-père était étonnamment utile pour tailler les crayons et sculpter de petits morceaux de bois pour ses petits-enfants.
utility utensil item thing device

Related Words

Illustration retractable

retractable noun

/ɹiˈtɹæktɪbəl/

Stylo rétractable

"My father uses a retractable pen for signing documents at work. "

Mon père utilise un stylo rétractable pour signer des documents au travail.

Illustration originally

originally adverb

/əˈɹɪdʒnəli/

À l'origine, initialement

"Originally, this paper was white, but over the years it has yellowed with age."

À l'origine, ce papier était blanc, mais il a jauni avec l'âge au fil des ans.

Illustration artificial

artificial adjective

/ɑː(ɹ)təˈfɪʃəl/

Artificiel, factice

"The flowers were artificial, and he thought them rather tacky."

Les fleurs étaient artificielles, et il les trouvait plutôt ringardes.

Illustration incorporate

incorporate verb

/ɪŋˈkɔɹpɚe(ɪ)t/ /ɪŋˈkɔː(ɹ).pəɹ.eɪt/ /ɪŋˈkɔɹpɚeɪt/

Incorporer, inclure

"The design of his house incorporates a spiral staircase."

La conception de sa maison incorpore un escalier en colimaçon.

Illustration grandchildren

grandchildren noun

/ˈɡrændˌtʃɪldrən/ /ˈɡrænˌtʃɪldrən/

Petits-enfants

"My daughter's children are my grandchildren, and I love spending time with them after school. "

Les enfants de ma fille sont mes petits-enfants, et j'adore passer du temps avec eux après l'école.

Illustration convenient

convenient adjective

/kənˈviːniənt/ /kənˈvinjənt/

Pratique, commode, avantageux

"The train schedule was convenient for getting to work on time. "

L'horaire des trains était pratique pour arriver au travail à l'heure.

Illustration surprisingly

surprisingly adverb

/sərˈpraɪzɪŋli/ /səˈpraɪzɪŋli/

Étonnamment, de façon surprenante

"Surprisingly, my sister decided to volunteer at the animal shelter this weekend. "

Étonnamment, ma sœur a décidé de faire du bénévolat au refuge pour animaux ce week-end.

Illustration commercially

commercially adverb

/kəˈmɜːrʃəli/ /kəˈmɜːrʃəlli/

De manière commerciale

"The bakery sells its bread commercially, distributing it to local supermarkets. "

La boulangerie vend son pain de manière commerciale, en le distribuant aux supermarchés locaux.

Illustration grandfather

grandfather noun

/ˈɡɹæn(d)ˌfɑːðə(r)/ /ˈɡɹæn(d)ˌfɑðɚ/

Grand-père

"My grandfather helped me with my math homework. "

Mon grand-père m'a aidé avec mes devoirs de maths.

Illustration pocketknives

pocketknives noun

/ˈpɑkɪtˌnaɪvz/ /ˈpɑkətˌnaɪvz/

Couteaux de poche

"My grandfather always carried two pocketknives, one for whittling wood and another for everyday tasks like opening packages. "

Mon grand-père portait toujours deux couteaux de poche, un pour tailler le bois et un autre pour les tâches quotidiennes comme l'ouverture des colis.

Illustration implements

implements noun

/ˈɪmpləmənts/

Outil, instrument

"They carried an assortment of gardening implements in the truck."

Ils transportaient un assortiment d'outils de jardinage dans le camion.

Illustration eventually

eventually adverb

/ɪ.ˈvɛn.tjʊ.li/ /ɪ.ˈvɛn.t͡ʃu.li/

Finalement, à la fin, un jour

"After many frustrating attempts, he eventually finished his school project. "

Après de nombreuses tentatives frustrantes, il a finalement terminé son projet scolaire.