'assegai' originates from Portuguese, specifically the word 'azagaia', where 'azagaia' meant 'spear'.

'assegai' changed from Portuguese 'azagaia' and entered English usage (via early modern travel and colonial reports) as 'assegai' or variant 'assegai/assegay', eventually becoming the modern English word 'assegai' (plural 'assegais').

Initially, it meant 'a spear (as called in Portuguese and in contact with African peoples)'; over time it came to refer specifically to the distinctive light spear or javelin associated with southern African warriors (especially the Zulu).