backsword

B3A1C3K5S1W4O1R1D2

noun

A sword with one sharp edge, especially full length such, where shorter such are called broadsword and thereof.

Similar
singlestickfencing stick
Scrabble 21
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Meanings

nounbacksword (plural backswords)

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. UKdatedA stick with a basket handle, used in rustic amusements.

    Synonyms: singlestick

  3. UKdatedThe 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 […]

Synonyms & antonyms

nounA stick with a basket handle, used in rustic amusements.

Similar
singlestick

More synonyms by meaning

nouna stick used instead of a sword for fencing

Similar
singlestickfencing stick
Broader
stick
Also see
singlestick

Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.

Origin

From back + sword, i.e. “sword with a back”. The same naming theme appears in other Germanic languages, such as German Rückenklinge (“single-edged blade”), Swedish enback (“seax, backsword”, literally “single-back”).

Full word history & related roots →

Translations

Chinese Mandarin 單刃刀 /单刃刀
  • 單刃刀 /单刃刀 (dānrèndāo)sword with one sharp edge
Danish pallask
  • pallasksword with one sharp edge
French palache
  • palachesword with one sharp edge
German Pallasch, Korbschwert
  • Pallaschsword with one sharp edge
  • Korbschwertsword with one sharp edge
Hungarian pallos
  • pallossword with one sharp edge
Japanese バックソード
  • バックソード (bakkusōdo)sword with one sharp edge
Polish pałasz
  • pałaszsword with one sharp edge
Russian пала́ш
  • пала́ш (paláš)sword with one sharp edge
Swedish pallasch, enbak
  • pallaschsword with one sharp edge
  • enbaksword with one sharp edge
Cite this entry
APA

backsword. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/backsword

MLA

“backsword.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/backsword. Accessed November 2, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “backsword,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/backsword.

Source: backsword on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.