September is Etymology Month (24)

dagger late 14c., apparently from O.Fr. dague "dagger," from O.Prov. dague or It. daga, of uncertain origin; perhaps Celtic, perhaps from V.L. *daca "Dacian knife," from the Roman province in modern Romania. The ending is possibly the faintly pejorative -ard suffix. Attested earlier (1279) as a surname (Dagard, presumably "one who carried a dagger"). M.Du. dagge, Dan. daggert, Ger. Degen also are from French.