▪ I. hilt, n.
(hɪlt)
Also 1 hilte, 1–5 hylt, 1–6 hylte, hilte, (3 Lay. heolte, helte), 4 hult, 5 Sc. helt.
[OE. hilt str. n. and m., = MDu. helt, hilt m., ON. hjalt str. n.; also hilte wk. fem., corresp. to OS. hilta (MLG. hilte, MDu. helte, hilte) f., OHG. helza (MHG. helze) wk. f. The former appears to represent an OTeut. *heltoz—hiltiz, neuter s-stem; the latter OTeut. *hiltjôn-; of uncertain origin; not connected with hold vb. (Thence OF. helt, helte, later heut, heu, heute, It. elso, elsa hilt of sword or dagger.)]
1. a. The handle of a sword or dagger.
| Beowulf (Z.) 1669 Ic þæt hilt þanan feondum ætferede. c 1000 ælfric Voc. in Wr.-Wülcker 142/15 Capulum, hilte. c 1205 Lay. 1559 Þa brac þat sweord..Riht bi þere hilte. 13.. Gaw. & Gr. Knt. 1594 Hit hym vp to þe hult. 14.. Sir Beues (C.) 4313 Þe hylte was a charbocle ston. 1530 Palsgr. 531/2 Hylte of a swerde, poignee. 1590 Sir J. Smyth Disc. Weapons 4 Long heavie Daggers also, with great brauling Ale-house hilts. 1642 Fuller Holy & Prof. St. ii. xix. 127 He that hath the hilt in his hand in the morning, may have the point at his throat ere night. 1692 Sir W. Hope Fencing Master 2 The Hilt is divided into three parts, the Pomell, the Handle, and the Shell. 1847 James J. Marston Hall viii, The Duke..laid his hand upon the hilt of his sword. |
† b. Formerly often in pl., with same sense.
| Beowulf (Z.) 1615 Þa hilt somod since faᵹe. a 1000 Sal. & Sat. 446 Ofer ða byrᵹena blicað ða hiltas. c 1000 ælfric Judg. iii. 22 Þa hiltan eodon into þam innoþe. c 1400 Melayne 116 Gaffe hym þ⊇ hiltis in his hande. c 1450 Merlin 103 Arthur toke the swerde by the hiltes, and..yaf it to the Archebisshopp. 1599 Shakes. Hen. V, ii. i. 68 Ile run him vp to the hilts, as I am a soldier. 1632 J. Hayward tr. Biondi's Eromena 29 In whose belly, she..buried the Poyniard up to the hilts. 1753 L. M. tr. Du Boscq's Accompl. Wom. II. 205 The sword..bent to the very hilts. |
† c. By extension, a sword-stick or foil. Obs.
| 1609 B. Jonson Case is alt. ii. iv, Let's to some exercise or other, my hearts. Fetch the hilts. Fellow Juniper, wilt thou play? |
2. The handle or haft of any other weapon or tool.
| 1573–80 Baret Alv. H 454 The Hilt, or handle of any toole or weapon, manubrium. 1848 Lytton Harold ii. i, Before each guest was a knife, with the hilt adorned by precious stones. 1863 Kinglake Crimea (1876) I. xiv. 275 Unnecessary..to shew even the hilt of his pistol. |
3. Phrases. † by these hilts: a form of asseveration. † loose in the hilts: unreliable, conjugally unfaithful. up to the hilt († hilts): completely, thoroughly, to the furthest degree possible; also to the hilt.
| 1596 Shakes. 1 Hen. IV, ii. iv. 230 Seuen, by these Hilts, or I am a Villaine else. 1632 Chapman & Shirley Ball iv. iii, 'Tis not, I fear To fight with him, by these hilts! 1650 Howell Cotgrave's Dict. Ep. Ded., In French Cocu is taken for one whose wife is loose in the hilts. 1682 Villiers (Dk. Buckhm.) Chances Wks. (1714) 136 It's no matter, she's loose i' th' Hilts, by Heaven. 1687 R. L'Estrange Answ. Diss. 45 He is All, Politiques here, up to the Hilts. 1823 Byron Juan xi. lvii, A modern Ancient Pistol—by the hilts! 1862 Lond. Rev. 16 Aug. 135 The original statements..have been proved—if we may say so—up to the very hilt. 1883 J. Payn Thicker than Water iii. (1884) 18 The estate was mortgaged up to the hilt. 1950 J. D. Carr Below Suspicion x. 122 You may trust me to the hilt! 1965 New Statesman 16 Apr. 604/1 The Prime Minister..backs their decisions to the hilt. 1965 Listener 20 May 742/2 Every event I attended was subscribed to the hilt, and the house was full. |
4. Comb. hilt-guard, the part which protects the hand when holding the hilt.
| 1874 Boutell Arms & Arm. v. 80 At the two extremities of its massive rectangular hilt-guard, the Roman sword commonly displays..the head of a lion or..an eagle. |
Hence ˈhiltless a., without a hilt.
| c 1000 Voc. in Wr.-Wülcker 142/34 Ensis, hiltleas sweord. |
▪ II. hilt, v.
[f. prec. n.]
trans. To furnish or fit with a hilt; to provide a hilt for.
| 1813 Scott Trierm. iii. xxvii, All the ore he deign'd to hoard Inlays his helm, and hilts his sword. 1822 ― Nigel xxvii, A long-bladed knife, hilted with buck's-horn. 1874 Boutell Arms & Arm. ii. 17 Not a very secure mode of hilting a sword. |
Hence ˈhilting vbl. n., concr. material for hilts.
| 1897 Daily News 25 Jan. 9/5 Prices of hilting are high, especially bone. |
▪ III. hilt
var. of hild v. Obs., to flay; obs. or dial. f. held, pa. tense of hold v.