Meanings
- A strap, buckle or other fastening by which a sword or scabbard is held attached to a person's belt, clothing etc.
He held the porte-épée in his hand. The metalled silk seemed to trickle between his fingers, like cool golden rain.
2002, Josepth Roth, translated by Michael Hofmann, The Radetsky March, Folio Society, published 2015, page 1341 more example
An additional strap extends from the porte-épée and hooks onto the front of the belt with another clasp to stabilize the arrangement.
1987, Alaric Faulkner, Gretchen Fearon Faulkner, The French at Pentagoet, page 251Synonyms: frog
Synonyms & antonyms
nounA strap, buckle or other fastening by which a sword or scabbard is held attached to a person's belt, clothing etc.
Origin
- Frenchporte-épée
- Englishporte-épée
From French porte-épée.
More words from French
Full word history & related roots →Cite this entry
porte-épée. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 5, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/porte-%C3%A9p%C3%A9e
“porte-épée.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/porte-%C3%A9p%C3%A9e. Accessed November 5, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “porte-épée,” accessed November 5, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/porte-%C3%A9p%C3%A9e.
Source: porte-épée on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.