athame

/əˈθeɪmeɪ/

Etymology

From French athamé in a 1929 passage from É.-J. Grillot de Givry (see 1931 citation below), apparently from Medieval Latin artavus (“quill-sharpening knife”). Artavus was also mistranslated into artauo in an Italian manuscript. The arthame was conflated with the cortel nero (“black knife”) by Grillot de Givry, and that conflation was passed on to Gerald Gardner (whose 1954 book Witchcraft Today introduced Wicca to the public).

Why this word is great

ATHAME — [Noun] A ceremonial pointed knife or dagger, used especially in Wicca and other neopagan traditions, typically with a black handle inscribed with magical symbols. From French athamé (1929), apparently from Medieval Latin artavus ("quill-sharpening knife"), later conflated with cortel nero ("black knife") in occult texts. Unlike the "boline" (a white-handled tool for slicing herbs, pragmatic as a kitchen knife) or the "kris" (a serpentine blade steeped in Javanese mysticism, but worlds apart from Western ritual), the athame is a conductor of intent—never to draw blood, only energy. It is the cold gleam of steel tracing a circle in candlelight, the hilt’s sigils pressing into a palm like a whispered vow, the blade’s edge dividing not flesh but the unseen currents of the air. A tool, not a weapon; a symbol of will sharpened to a point.

noun

A ceremonial pointed knife or dagger, used especially in Wicca and other neopagan traditions and typically having a black handle with magical symbols on it.“She is moving with a regal gait, grasping the arthame, or magic knife.”