The word “dirk” (“kortik” in Russian) itself, according to some experts, came from the Italian “cortello”, meaning “small knife”, other experts consider it to be native Russian and interpret it as a diminutive formation from the old Russian “cord”, others refer to the Persian “kard” (knife), and the fourth ─ to the Dutch “korte sable” (short saber).
In its form, the Russian marine dirk was so elegant that the German Kaiser Wilhelm II, bypassing the formation of the crew of the Russian cruiser “Varyag”, was absolutely delighted with it, so he ordered dirks to be made for officers of his fleet according to the modified Russian model. Also, back in the 80s of the XIX century, the Japanese copied the Russian dirk, and made it look like a small samurai sword.
