The story
From light + saber; coined by American filmmaker and philanthropist George Lucas for the Star Wars film franchise. First mentioned in the film Star Wars (later retitled Star Wars: Episode IV—A New Hope) which was released on May 25, 1977.
First known use, by meaning
- from 1977. A sword having a blade made of a powerful beam of light or energy.
Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.