dagger /ˈdaɡə 
/ ▸ noun 1 a short knife with a pointed and edged blade, used as a weapon: he drew his dagger and stabbed the leader.
▪ Printing another term for obelus 2 a moth with a dark dagger-shaped marking on the forewing. Genus Acronicta, family Noctuidae: several species.
– PHRASES be at daggers drawn British English
(of two people) be bitterly hostile towards each other: they have been at daggers drawn for weeks over tactics.
look daggers at (also glare daggers at)
glare very angrily at: she flung the fork down, looking daggers at him.
– ORIGIN late Middle English: perhaps from obsolete dag ‘pierce, stab’, influenced by Old French dague ‘long dagger’.
EnglishOxford Dictionary of English
