wappenshaw

[ wop-uhn-shaw, wap- ]

noun
  1. a periodic muster or review of troops or persons under arms, formerly held in certain districts of Scotland to satisfy military chiefs that their men were properly armed and faithful to the local lord or chieftain.

Origin of wappenshaw

1
1495–1505; short for wappenshawing (Scots), equivalent to wappen (Old English wǣpna, genitive plural of wǣp(e)nweapon) + shawing showing (see show, -ing1); compare Dutch wapenschouwing
  • Often wap·pen·shaw·ing .

Words Nearby wappenshaw

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use wappenshaw in a sentence

  • The sports of the first day of the great wappenshaw were over.

    The Black Douglas | S. R. Crockett

British Dictionary definitions for wappenshaw

wappenshaw

/ (ˈwæpənʃɔː, ˈwɒp-) /


noun
  1. (formerly) a muster of men in a particular area in Scotland to show that they were properly armed

Origin of wappenshaw

1
C16: from Northern English wapen, from Old Norse vápn weapon + schaw show

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012