bilbo2
[bil-boh]
- a finely tempered sword.
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Origin of bilbo2
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018
Related Words
weaponbladedaggersaberbrandbillfoilcutlassrapierepeescimitarhangersabrebroadswordkriscreeseclaymorefalchionbackswordtoledoExamples from the Web for bilboes
Historical Examples
Up with the prisoner, and let us get him safely into the bilboes.'
Micah ClarkeArthur Conan Doyle
Restraint, durance, confinement under arrest, or in the bilboes.
The Sailor's Word-BookWilliam Henry Smyth
Here, Nicholls, this man is your prisoner; get the bilboes and clap them on him.
The Missing MerchantmanHarry Collingwood
For which Mr. Rowe carid hym abord and put hym in the bilboes.
Diary of Richard Cocks Vol. IRichard Cocks
One of the earliest of these instruments of punishment was the bilboes.
The Historical ChildOscar Chrisman
bilboes
- a long iron bar with two sliding shackles, formerly used to confine the ankles of a prisoner
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Word Origin
C16: perhaps changed from Bilbao
bilbo
- (formerly) a sword with a marked temper and elasticity
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Word Origin
C16: from Bilboa, variant (in English) of Bilbao, Spain, noted for its blades
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition
© William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
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Word Origin and History for bilboes
bilbo
n.
kind of sword noted for temper and elasticity, 1590s, from Bilbao, town in northern Spain where swords were made, in English Bilboa. The town name is Roman Bellum Vadum "beautiful ford" (over the Nervion River).
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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper