backsword
A sword with only one sharpened edge, as opposed to a double-edged sword.
Definitions
A sword with only one sharpened edge, as opposed to a double-edged sword. The backsword was common in early modern European warfare and sport fencing. The term is also associated with a rural stick-fighting tradition in England known as backsword play, where a wooden stick substituted for the actual weapon. Now primarily encountered in historical writing and re-enactment contexts. The weapon's single edge distinguished it from the broadsword.
The exhibit included a well-preserved backsword from the 17th century, the single edge still visible.
Comments
A sword with one sharp edge.
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UK and Irish slang — Cockney, Scouse, Geordie, Yorkshire, Glaswegian, Brummie, Welsh, West Country, plus Irish English. Centuries of regional dialects feeding into modern British and Irish street talk.
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