backswords

Noun

backsword (plural backswords)

1. A sword with one sharp edge, especially full length such, where shorter such are called broadsword and thereof.
   • It [the dáo of the Nágá tribe, south-east of Assam] is a thick, heavy backsword, eighteen inches long, with a bevel where the point should be, worn at the waist in a half-scabbard of wood, and used for digging as well as killing.1884, Richard F[rancis] Burton, “The Sword: What is It?”, in The Book of the Sword, London: Chatto and Windus, […], →OCLC, page 140
2. (UK, dated) A stick with a basket handle, used in rustic amusements.

   Synonyms:

   singlestick

3. (UK, dated) The game in which the stick is used.
   • One afternoon, as the missionary and I were sitting outside our tents, my attention was attracted towards a group of sepahis engaged under a banyantree, playing the game of backsword […]1842, The Asiatic Journal […]