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cavalry sword

cavalry sword

1 8.0
A long curved sword used by soldiers on horses
  • noun
translation icon : sable de caballería
  • He trained rigorously to master his cavalry sword, perfecting his slashing technique.

Examples

  • During the reenactment, the actor wielded a replica of a historic cavalry sword with a curved blade.

  • 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

sword
vscavalry sword
1.0

A long metal weapon with a handle used for cutting or stabbing

is more specialized, being stouter, curved, and used by mounted troops
saber
vscavalry sword
  • US
51 7.0

A long sword with a curved blade and one sharp edge used by soldiers on horses and in fencing

is a stouter curved blade with a thick back built for mounted combat

Surface Forms

cavalry sword singular

Morphology

cavalry + sword

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'.