Rapiers

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. A long, slender weapon with a sharp point primarily used for thrusting in combat and characterized by its lightweight design for agility and finesse in dueling situations
2. A specialized sword with a narrow blade meant for quick, precise thrusts that is often employed in fencing battles for its dexterity and skillful handling
3. A thin, sharp-pointed sword designed mainly for thrusting attacks and known for its speed and agility in close combat

Etymology: The plural here is simply that of "rapier," so the real story is in the singular. Rapier came into English from Middle French "rapiere," which had itself passed through Old French forms such as "raspiere." Those trace back to Spanish "raspadera," meaning a poker, raker or scraper, and that in turn comes from "raspar," "to scrape." A sword named after a scraping tool sounds odd, but the connection is probably one of shape and motion rather than function: the long, narrow blade was thought to resemble a scraping implement. The Spanish root has Germanic origins, which means the word travelled a surprising route: a Germanic verb entered Spanish, became a word for a scraping tool, and was then carried into French and English as the name of a weapon. The word for the sword is therefore a long-distance borrowing, with its meaning shifting from a domestic implement to a duelling blade along the way.

Synonyms: swords, blades