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 compre ed prolongation of the upper jaw; Sword′-flag , the European water-flag or yellow iris; Sword′-gra , 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′le , 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 .]