rapier

[rey-pee-er]

noun

1. a small sword, especially of the 18th century, having a narrow blade and used for thrusting.

2. a longer, heavier sword, especially of the 16th and 17th centuries, having a double-edged blade and used for slashing and thrusting.

rapier

/ ˈreɪpɪə /

noun

1. a long narrow two-edged sword with a guarded hilt, used as a thrusting weapon, popular in the 16th and 17th centuries

2. a smaller single-edged 18th-century sword, used principally in France

Other Word Forms

• rapiered adjective
• rapier-like adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of rapier¹

1545–55; < Middle French ( espee ) rapiere literally, rasping (sword); rape ³

Word History and Origins

Origin of rapier¹

C16: from Old French espee rapiere , literally: rasping sword; see _rasp ¹

Example Sentences

“A broken rapier can push the clutch perfectly,” he explains, demonstrating his technique with an imaginary sword.

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Schroeder took on the powerful elite with her rapier wit and antics for 24 years, shaking up stodgy government institutions by forcing them to acknowledge that women had a role in government.

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But only after their rapier hosts punctured them twice in the opening 16 minutes with two goals of ruthless simplicity by Giovanni Simeone.

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Lydia Millet’s most recent novel was a polished rapier called “A Children’s Bible.”

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It starts out small and thin, like a rapier’s blade, but I push more of the splendor into it, until I’m holding what looks like a massive broadsword.

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Related Words

• blade 
• dagger 
• weapon