"large, sharp, heavy knife used for cutting and trimming meat," 1822, from butcher (n.) + knife (n.). Butcher's knife is attested from 1714.
Entries linking to butcher-knife
butcher n.
c. 1300, "one who slaughters animals for market," from Anglo-French boucher, from Old French bochier "butcher, executioner" (12c., Modern French boucher), probably literally "slaughterer of goats," from bouc "male goat," from Frankish *bukk or some other Germanic source (see buck (n.1)) or Celtic *bukkos "he-goat." Figurative sense of "brutal murderer, one who kills indiscriminately or cruelly" is attested from 1520s. Related: Butcherly. Old English had flæscmangere "butcher" ('flesh-monger').
knife n.
"hand-held cutting instrument consisting of a short blade and handle," late Old English cnif, probably from Old Norse knifr "knife, dirk," from Proto-Germanic *knibaz (source also of Middle Low German knif, Middle Dutch cnijf, German kneif), a word of uncertain origin. To further confuse the etymology, there also are forms in -p-, such as Dutch knijp, German kneip. French canif "penknife" (mid-15c.) is probably of Germanic origin, perhaps from Frankish. For pronunciation, see kn-.