Poignard

A poignard, or poniard, is a lightweight thrusting dagger with a continuously tapering, sharply pointed blade and a crossguard, historically carried by nobility and the upper classes. It emerged in the Middle Ages and saw its widest use through the Renaissance, roughly the 14th to 17th centuries, particularly in France, Switzerland and Italy, and was also adopted by Safavid Iranian forces, notably soldiers from the Caucasus. The term has since broadened to describe any small, slender dagger, with modern stiletto-type combat knives regarded as its direct descendants. This description is adapted from Wikipedia contributors under CC BY-SA 4.0; changes were made. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/