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smallsword

American  
[smawl-sawrd, -sohrd] / ˈsmɔlˌsɔrd, -ˌsoʊrd /

noun

  1. a light, tapering sword for thrusting, formerly used in fencing or dueling.

smallsword British  
/ ˈsmɔːlˌsɔːd /

noun

  1. a light sword used in the 17th and 18th centuries: formerly a fencing weapon

"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

Etymology

Origin of smallsword

First recorded in 1680–90; small + sword

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Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

One felt that the delivery of a hat, smallsword, cane, or message possessed at least the dignity, the entire absence of all worldly considerations that belong to the Sunday alms.

From Project Gutenberg

Finally he made him proficient in the polite use of the smallsword and the dice-box.

From Project Gutenberg

Bundesrath. switch, v. whip, flog; shunt, shift. swollen, a. tumid, tumefied, bloated, purled up. sword, n. rapier, saber, scimiter, brand, curtana, claymore, smallsword, glaive, broadsword, cutlass, Damascus blade, spadroon, creese.

From Project Gutenberg

Fine words, worthy of history's record, with only the blemish that they were addressed to little scamps not higher than their boot-boxes, and who were quite incapable of holding a smallsword.

From Project Gutenberg

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.