Sword

Sword, sōrd, n. an offensive weapon with a long blade, sharp upon one or both edges, for cutting or thrusting: destruction by the sword or by war, war, military force: the emblem of vengeance or justice, or of authority and power.—adj. Sword′-and-buck′ler, fought with sword and buckler, not the rapier: armed with sword and buckler.—ns. Sword′-arm, -hand, the arm, hand, that wields the sword; Sword′-bay′onet, a bayonet shaped somewhat like a sword, and used as one; Sword′-bear′er, a public officer who carries the sword of state; Sword′-belt, a military belt from which the sword is hung; Sword′bill, a South American humming-bird with a bill longer than its body; Sword′-break′er, an old weapon for grasping and breaking an adversary's sword; Sword′-cane, -stick, a cane or stick containing a sword; Sword′craft, skill with the sword; military power; Sword′-cut, a blow, wound, or scar caused by the edge of a sword; Sword′-dance, a dance in which the display of naked swords, or movements made with such, form a part; Sword′-doll′ar, a Scotch silver coin under James VI., worth 2s. 6d. in English money, having a sword on the reverse; Sword′er (Shak.), a swordsman; Sword′fish, a family of spiny-rayed Teleostean fishes, sometimes 12 to 15 feet in length, with a sword about 3 feet long, formed from a compressed prolongation of the upper jaw; Sword′-flag, the European water-flag or yellow iris; Sword′-grass, a kind of sedge; Sword′-guard, the part of a sword-hilt that protects the bearer's hand; Sword′-knot, a ribbon tied to the hilt of a sword; Sword′-law, government by the sword.—adj. Sword′less, destitute of a sword.—ns. Sword′play, fencing; Sword′player, a fencer.—adj. Sword′-proof, capable of resisting the blow or thrust of a sword.—n. Sword′-rack, a rack for holding swords.—adj. Sword′-shaped, ensiform.—ns. Swords′man, a man skilled in the use of a sword; Swords′manship. [A.S. sweord; Ice. sverdh, Ger. schwert.]