bodkin

American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition

1. n. A small, sharply pointed instrument for making holes in fabric or leather.
2. n. A blunt needle for pulling tape or ribbon through a series of loops or a hem.
3. n. A long hairpin, usually with an ornamental head.
4. n. Printing An awl or pick for extracting letters from set type.
5. n. A dagger or stiletto.

Century Dictionary and Cyclopedia

1. n. A small dagger; a stiletto.
2. n. A small pointed instrument of steel, bone, or ivory, used for piercing holes in cloth, etc.
3. n. A similar but blunt instrument, with an eye, for drawing thread, tape, or ribbon through a loop, hem, etc.
4. n. A long pin-shaped instrument used by women to fasten up the hair.
5. n. A thick needle or straight awl of steel, used by bookbinders to make holes in boards and to trace lines for cutting.
6. n. A printers' tool for picking letters out of a column or page in correcting.
7. n. A corruption of baudekin.

Wiktionary

1. n. A small sharp pointed tool for making holes in cloth or leather.
2. n. A blunt needle used for threading ribbon or cord through a hem or casing.
3. n. A hairpin.
4. n. A dagger.
5. n. A type of arrowhead.

GNU Webster's 1913

1. n. obsolete A dagger.
2. n. (Needlework) An implement of steel, bone, ivory, etc., with a sharp point, for making holes by piercing; a stiletto; an eyeleteer.
3. n. (Print.) A sharp tool, like an awl, used for picking out letters from a column or page in making corrections.
4. n. A kind of needle with a large eye and a blunt point, for drawing tape, ribbon, etc., through a loop or a hem; a tape needle.
5. n. A kind of pin used by women to fasten the hair.
6. n. obsolete See baudekin.

WordNet 3.0

1. n. formerly a long hairpin; usually with an ornamental head
2. n. a blunt needle for threading ribbon through loops
3. n. a dagger with a slender blade
4. n. a small sharp-pointed tool for punching holes in leather or fabric