cavalry sword
- noun
- He trained rigorously to master his cavalry sword, perfecting his slashing technique.
Examples
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During the reenactment, the actor wielded a replica of a historic cavalry sword with a curved blade.
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Iver Johnson pistol, the cylinder empty of bullets, and a heavy cavalry sword, the hilt battered, the blade deeply nicked.
Fiction book (1995) -
The "1876" (a typo, I am sure) spadroon being "perfect" for cutting and thrusting and the 1796 LC cavalry sword being ineffective but scary looking...
Blog text (9) -
The cavalry soldiers brandished their cavalry sword as they charged into battle.
Synonyms
A long metal weapon with a handle used for cutting or stabbing
A long sword with a curved blade and one sharp edge used by soldiers on horses and in fencing
Surface Forms
Morphology
The compound 'cavalry sword' is directly and compositionally derived from 'cavalry' (soldiers on horseback) + 'sword' (a bladed weapon), so its meaning — a sword used by cavalry — is immediately inferable. This straightforward noun–noun modifier pattern is common across languages and follows standard English composition, so a B1 learner who knows both constituents will understand it.
Etymology
Cavalry sword: The name cavalry sword comes from soldiers on horses: cavalry means those riders and sword is the blade they used. These curved, strong blades let a rider slash while moving, so the term means 'a stout sword with a curved blade used by cavalry soldiers'.