Penknife

[1] Today penknife is also the common British English term for both a pocketknife, which can have single or multiple blades, and for multi-tools, with additional tools incorporated into the design.

[2] Originally, penknives were used for thinning and pointing quills (cf.

penna, Latin for feather) to prepare them for use as dip pens and, later, for repairing or re-pointing the nib.

[citation needed] During the 20th century there has been a proliferation of multi-function pocketknives with assorted blades and gadgets,[5] the most famous of which is the Swiss Army knife, referred to in British English as penknives.

A larger folding knife than a penknife, especially one in which the blade locks into place as a protection, as for skinning animals, is referred to by some as a claspknife.