Stiletto Stiletto A stiletto () is a knife or dagger with a long slender blade and needle-like point, primarily intended as a stabbing weapon. The stiletto blade's narrow cross-section and acuminated tip reduces friction upon entry, allowing the blade to penetrate deeply. Some consider the stiletto a form of dagger, but most stilettos are specialized thrusting weapons not designed for cutting or slashing, even with edged examples. Over time, the term "stiletto" has been used as a general descriptive term for a variety of knife blades exhibiting a narrow blade with minimal cutting surfaces and a needle-like point, such as the
Name-bearing type In contrast, a subjective synonym is based on a different name-bearing type, but is regarded as representing the same taxon; for example, the name "Viverra touan" Shaw, 1800, is based on a different name-bearing type (a specimen in the Field Museum of Natural History), but is currently regarded as representing the same species as "Didelphis brevicaudata" and "Didelphys brachyuros". "Family-group" ranks include the superfamily and all other ranks below it and above the genus, including the family and tribe. The name of a family-group taxon is based on the stem of the type genus, its name-bearing type; for example, the