Meanings
sword1
plural swords · alternative obsolete swerd · alternative obsolete sweard · alternative obsolete swoord · alternative obsolete swoorde · alternative obsolete sworde
- countableA long bladed weapon with a grip and typically a pommel and crossguard (together forming a hilt), which is designed to cut, stab, slash and/or hack.
He took out his sword and stabbed the man in the stomach.
3 more examples
Malicious tunges, though they have no bones, Are ſharper then ſwordes, ſturdier then ſtones.
c. 1515–1516, John Skelton, Againſt venemous tongues enpoyſoned with ſclaunder and falſe detractions &c., published 1568Unsheathe your sword and dub him presently.
c. 1591–1592 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Third Part of Henry the Sixt, […]”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act II, scene ii], line 59Some swords were also made solely to thrust, and some only to cut; others were equally adapted for both.
1786, Francis Grose, A Treatise on Ancient Armour and Weapons, page 49 - A suit in certain playing card decks, particularly those used in Spain and Italy, or those used for divination.
- A card of this suit.
- figurativelyViolence; military might.
present singular third person swords · participle present swording · participle past sworded · past sworded · alternative obsolete swerd · alternative obsolete sweard · alternative obsolete swoord · alternative obsolete swoorde · alternative obsolete sworde
- uncommonTo stab or cut with a sword
Sword2
Synonyms & antonyms
nouna cutting or thrusting weapon that has a long metal blade and a hilt with a hand guard
Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.
Origin
sword · noun, verb
- Proto-Indo-European*seh₂w-“sharp”
- Proto-Germanic*swerdą“sword”
- Proto-West Germanic*swerd“sword”
- Old Englishsweord“sword”
- West Midland Middle Englishsword
- Englishsword
Inherited from West Midland Middle English sword (swerd in most dialects), from Old English sweord (“sword”), from Proto-West Germanic *swerd (“sword”), from Proto-Germanic *swerdą (“sword”), possibly from Proto-Indo-European *seh₂w- (“sharp”). Cognates Cognate with North Frisian Swērt, Swiirt, swörd (“sword”), Saterland Frisian Swid, Swäid (“sword”), West Frisian swurd (“sword”), Dutch zwaard (“sword”), German Schwert (“sword”), Luxembourgish Schwäert (“sword”), Vilamovian świert (“sword”), Yiddish שווערד (shverd, “sword”), Danish sværd (“sword”), Faroese svørð (“sword”), Icelandic sverð (“sword”), Norn svird (“small longish object”), Norwegian Bokmål sverd (“sword”), Norwegian Nynorsk sverd, svørd (“sword”), Swedish svärd (“sword”); also Belarusian све́рдзел (svjérdzjel, “drill, drill bit”), Bulgarian свре́дел (svrédel, “drill, drill bit”), Czech svider (“drill bit”), Polish świder (“drill”), Russian сверло́ (sverló, “auger, bore, drill, drill bit”), Serbo-Croatian свр̏дло, svȑdlo (“auger”), Slovene sveder (“drill”), Ukrainian све́рдел (svérdel), све́рдло (svérdlo, “drill bit”).
More words from West Midland Middle English, Old English, Proto-West Germanic
Full word history & related roots →Sword · proper noun
- Old NorseSigvarðr
- IrishÓ Suaird“descendant of Suard”
- EnglishSword
Various origins: * Metonymic occupational surname for a sword maker or armorer. * Reduced Anglicized form of Irish Ó Suaird (“descendant of Suard”), a Gaelicized form of Old Norse Sigvarðr.
More words from Irish, Old Norse
Full word history & related roots →Translations
Afrikaans swaard
- swaardweapon
Ancient Greek ξίφος, φάσγανον
- ξίφος (xíphos)weapon
- φάσγανον (phásganon)weapon
- μάχαιρα (mákhaira)weapon
- ῥομφαία (rhomphaía)weapon
Arabic سَيْف, حُسَام
- سَيْف (sayf)weapon
- حُسَام (ḥusām)weapon
- سيف (sēf)weapon
- سيف (sēf)weapon
- سَيَّاف (sayyāf)one who handles a sword
Basque ezpata
- ezpataweapon
Bengali তলোয়ার, তরোয়াল
- তলোয়ার (tolōẏar)weapon
- তরোয়াল (torōẏal)weapon
- তেগ (teg)weapon
- শমশের (śomośer)weapon
- ছুরি (churi)weapon
- দাও (daō)weapon
- দা (da)weapon
Bulgarian меч, мечоно́сец
- меч (meč)weapon
- мечоно́сец (mečonósec)one who handles a sword
Catalan espasa, glai
- espasaweapon
- glaiweapon
- espasaone who handles a sword
Chinese 劍 /剑
- 劍 /剑 (kiàm)weapon
Chinese Cantonese 劍 /剑
- 劍 /剑 (gim³)weapon
Chinese Mandarin 劍 /剑, 刀
- 劍 /剑 (jiàn)weapon
- 刀 (dāo)weapon
Czech meč
- mečweapon
Danish sværd
- sværdweapon
Dari شَمْشیر, سَیْف
- شَمْشیر (šamšēr)weapon
- سَیْف (sayf)weapon
Dutch zwaard
- zwaardweapon
Esperanto glavo
- glavoweapon
Estonian mõõk
- mõõkweapon
Finnish miekka, miekka
- miekkaweapon
- miekkacard of this suit
- miekkamiesone who handles a sword
- miekatsuit in cards
French épée, glaive
- épéeweapon
- glaiveweapon
- épéisteone who handles a sword
German Schwert, Schwärt
- Schwertweapon
- Schwärtweapon
- Schwertkämpferone who handles a sword
- Schwertkämpferinone who handles a sword
Greek ξίφος, σπαθί
- ξίφος (xífos)weapon
- σπαθί (spathí)weapon
- σπαθί (spathí)card of this suit
- σπαθιά (spathiá)card of this suit
- ξιφοφόρος (xifofóros)one who handles a sword
- ξιφομάχος (xifomáchos)one who handles a sword
Hebrew חֶרֶב, סַיִף
- חֶרֶב (khérev)weapon
- סַיִף (sáyif)weapon
Hindi तलवार, शमशेर
- तलवार (talvār)weapon
- शमशेर (śamśer)weapon
Hungarian kard, kardforgató
- kardweapon
- kardforgatóone who handles a sword
Icelandic sverð
- sverðweapon
Indonesian pedang
- pedangweapon
Iranian Persian شَمْشیر, سِیْف
- شَمْشیر (šamšir)weapon
- سِیْف (seyf)weapon
Irish claíomh
- claíomhweapon
Italian spada, brando
- spadaweapon
- brandoweapon
- stoccoweapon
- gladioweapon
- ghiadoweapon
Japanese 刀, 剣
- 刀 (katana)weapon
- 剣weapon
Korean 검, 칼
- 검 (geom)weapon
- 칼 (kal)weapon
Latin gladius, spatha
- gladiusweapon
- spathaweapon
- ēnsisweapon
- machaeraweapon
- mūcrōweapon
- ferrumweapon
Latvian zobens
- zobensweapon
Lithuanian kalavijas, kardas
- kalavijasweapon
- kardasweapon
Malay pedang
- pedangweapon
Māori hoari
- hoariweapon
Norwegian Bokmål sverd
- sverdweapon
Polish miecz, miecz
- mieczweapon
- mieczsuit in cards
Portuguese espada, gládio
- espadaweapon
- gládioweapon
- espadachimone who handles a sword
Punjabi ਤਲਵਾਰ
- ਤਲਵਾਰ (talvār)weapon
Romanian sabie, spadă
- sabieweapon
- spadăweapon
Russian меч, шпа́га
- меч (meč)weapon
- шпа́га (špága)weapon
- са́бля (sáblja)weapon
- мечено́сец (mečenósec)one who handles a sword
Scottish Gaelic claidheamh, slòighre
- claidheamhweapon
- slòighreweapon
Slovak meč
- mečweapon
Spanish espada, tizona
- espadaweapon
- tizonaweapon
- espadaone who handles a sword
- espadachínone who handles a sword
Swahili upanga
- upangaweapon
Swedish svärd
- svärdweapon
Tagalog tabak
- tabakweapon
Tamil வாள்
- வாள் (vāḷ)weapon
Thai ดาบ
- ดาบ (dàap)weapon
Turkish kılıç
- kılıçweapon
Ukrainian меч
- меч (meč)weapon
Urdu تَلْوار, شَمْشیر
- تَلْوار (talvār)weapon
- شَمْشیر (śamśer)weapon
- شَمْشِیر (śamśīr)weapon
- سَیف (saif)weapon
Vietnamese gươm, kiếm
- gươmweapon
- kiếmweapon
Welsh cleddyf
- cleddyfweapon
Yiddish שווערד
- שווערד (shverd)weapon
Rhymes & wordplay
Rhymes with sword
Sounds the same
Anagrams
Cite this entry
sword. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/sword
“sword.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/sword. Accessed November 2, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “sword,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/sword.
Source: sword on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.