sword-breaker
sword-breaker noun: a short sword or dagger with a deeply notched or toothed blade, or with secondary projections, designed to catch or grapple an opponent's weapon.
Noun
sword-breaker (plural sword-breakers)
- A short sword or dagger with a deeply notched or toothed blade, or with secondary projections, designed to catch or grapple an opponent's weapon.
- The deepest indentations are in the so-called Sword-breakers (brise-épées), mostly of the fifteenth century.1884, Richard F[rancis] Burton, “The Sword: What is It?”, in The Book of the Sword, London: Chatto and Windus, […], →OCLC, page 138
- A notch or projection on a dagger, etc., designed to catch an opponent's weapon.
- The dagger has the triangular knuckle-guard peculiar to the period, also straight quillons, fluted pommel and similar grip; the blade is 18 in. long, 2 in. wide at the hilt, where it is furnished with two sword-breakers.1904, Guy Francis Laking, The Armoury of Windsor Castle: European Section, page 32
Forms of sword-breaker
| plural | sword-breakers |
|---|---|
| alternative form | swordbreaker |
| alternative form | sword breaker |
Questions about sword-breaker
- What does sword-breaker mean?
- Sword-breaker means a short sword or dagger with a deeply notched or toothed blade, or with secondary projections, designed to catch or grapple an opponent's weapon.
- What part of speech is sword-breaker?
- Sword-breaker is a noun.
- What is the plural of sword-breaker?
- The plural of sword-breaker is sword-breakers.
Words near sword-breaker in the dictionary
Source and license
Adapted from Wiktionary: sword-breaker (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.
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