A short sword or knife with a curved blade, worn (sometimes in miniature form) as one of the five distinguishing signs of the Sikh Khalsa.
短剑(锡克教卡尔萨的五大识别标志之一)
Example sentencesExamples
The school had banned the kirpan for safety reasons, on grounds that it could be used as a weapon.
Recently, a Sikh student in Montreal was forbidden from attending his school if he wore his kirpan, a dagger Sikhs are obligated to carry as a part of their faith.
Believers also carry a knife - a kirpan - as one of five key emblems of their faith.
The kesh, the kachha, the kara, the kanga and the kirpan are the gifts, chiseled out for the Khalsa, by the divine artist.
Orthodox Sikhs have been required to carry kirpans since the 17th century, and insist it is not a weapon.
Origin
From Punjabi and Hindi kiṛpān, from Sanskrit kṛpāṇa 'sword'.