epee

E1P3E1E1
/ˈɛpeɪ//ˈeɪpeɪ/

noun

A sharp-pointed dueling sword with a bell-shaped guard, used (with the end blunted) in sport fencing.

OriginFrench épée ← Latin spatha ← Ancient Greek σπάθη →
UncommonScrabble 6
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Meanings

nounepee (plural epees)

plural epees · alternative épee · alternative épée

  1. fencingA sharp-pointed dueling sword with a bell-shaped guard, used (with the end blunted) in sport fencing.

    The country’s fencing federation has officially recognised lightsaber duelling as a competitive sport, granting the weapon from George Lucas’s space saga the same status as the foil, epee and sabre, the traditional blades used at the Olympics.

    2019 February 19, “Lightsaber duelling registered as official sport in France”, in The Guardian, archived from the original on 08 Nov 2020

Origin

  1. Ancient Greekσπάθη
  2. Latinspatha
  3. Frenchépée
  4. Englishepee

Borrowed from French épée, from Latin spatha, from Ancient Greek σπάθη (spáthē). Doublet of spatha, spathe, and spade.

More words from French, Latin, Ancient Greek

Full word history & related roots →

Translations

Catalan espasa
  • espasasharp-pointed dueling sword with a bell-shaped guard, used (with the end blunted) in sport fencing
Chinese Mandarin 重劍 /重剑
  • 重劍 /重剑 (zhòngjiàn)sharp-pointed dueling sword with a bell-shaped guard, used (with the end blunted) in sport fencing
Czech kord
  • kordsharp-pointed dueling sword with a bell-shaped guard, used (with the end blunted) in sport fencing
Dutch degen
  • degensharp-pointed dueling sword with a bell-shaped guard, used (with the end blunted) in sport fencing
Finnish kalpa
  • kalpasharp-pointed dueling sword with a bell-shaped guard, used (with the end blunted) in sport fencing
French épée
  • épéesharp-pointed dueling sword with a bell-shaped guard, used (with the end blunted) in sport fencing
German Degen
  • Degensharp-pointed dueling sword with a bell-shaped guard, used (with the end blunted) in sport fencing
Hungarian párbajtőr
  • párbajtőrsharp-pointed dueling sword with a bell-shaped guard, used (with the end blunted) in sport fencing
Italian spada
  • spadasharp-pointed dueling sword with a bell-shaped guard, used (with the end blunted) in sport fencing
Japanese エペ
  • エペ (epe)sharp-pointed dueling sword with a bell-shaped guard, used (with the end blunted) in sport fencing
Korean 에페
  • 에페 (epe)sharp-pointed dueling sword with a bell-shaped guard, used (with the end blunted) in sport fencing
Lithuanian špaga
  • špagasharp-pointed dueling sword with a bell-shaped guard, used (with the end blunted) in sport fencing
Polish szpada
  • szpadasharp-pointed dueling sword with a bell-shaped guard, used (with the end blunted) in sport fencing
Portuguese espada
  • espadasharp-pointed dueling sword with a bell-shaped guard, used (with the end blunted) in sport fencing
Russian шпа́га
  • шпа́га (špága)sharp-pointed dueling sword with a bell-shaped guard, used (with the end blunted) in sport fencing
Spanish espada
  • espadasharp-pointed dueling sword with a bell-shaped guard, used (with the end blunted) in sport fencing
Swedish värja
  • värjasharp-pointed dueling sword with a bell-shaped guard, used (with the end blunted) in sport fencing
Turkish epe
  • epesharp-pointed dueling sword with a bell-shaped guard, used (with the end blunted) in sport fencing
Ukrainian шпа́га
  • шпа́га (špáha)sharp-pointed dueling sword with a bell-shaped guard, used (with the end blunted) in sport fencing

Rhymes & wordplay

Sounds the same

epees
Cite this entry
APA

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

MLA

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

Chicago

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

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