bodkin

UK: /ˈbɒdkɪn/ US: /ˈbɑdkɪn/ ,(bod′kin)

WordReference Random House Learner's Dictionary of American English © 2025

bod•kin /ˈbɑdkɪn/   n. [countable]

1. Clothing a small needle.

WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2025

bod•kin  (bod′kin), n. 

1. Clothing a small, pointed instrument for making holes in cloth, leather, etc.
2. Clothing a long pinshaped instrument used by women to fasten up the hair.
3. Clothing a blunt, needlelike instrument for drawing tape, cord, etc., through a loop, hem, or the like.
4. [Obs.] a small dagger;
   stiletto.

• Middle English badeken, bo(i)dekyn, of uncertain origin, originally 1350–1400

Collins Concise English Dictionary © HarperCollins Publishers::

bodkin / ˈbɒdkɪn/ noun

1. a blunt large-eyed needle used esp for drawing tape through openwork
2. a dagger
3. a long ornamental hairpin

Etymology: 14th Century: probably of Celtic origin; compare Gaelic biodag dagger