Hi Emanuel,
"Bıçak" is a generic name used for knives and cutlery in modern Turkish. Most of the time, it is used with a qualifier, such as ekmek bıçağı (bread knife), meyve bıçağı (fruit knife). In many Ottoman Turkish texts, the term used for yatağan is "yatağan bıçağı." I am not sure about the origins, but my guess is that since yatağan was originally a secondary weapon, the term "bıçak" was used to describe it.
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