Definitions
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.
- noun A sword with a wide, usually two-edged blade that is designed for slashing rather than thrusting.
from The Century Dictionary.
- noun A sword with a broad blade, as distinguished from one with a narrow blade or from a three-sided thrusting-sword; a sword of which the edge as well as the point is used.
from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.
- noun A sword with a broad blade and a cutting edge; a claymore.
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.
- noun A type of
sword , usually alongsword , that has a broad cutting blade that does blunt damage as well as cutting damage. They were the pinnacle of medieval European sword technology.
from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.
- noun a sword with a broad blade and (usually) two cutting edges; used to cut rather than stab
Etymologies
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License
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Examples
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You ask me for my right to examine you, sir (to Henry); my cockade and my broadsword are my commission, and a better one than ever
Old Mortality 2004
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His broadsword was a heavy weapon, but he made it sing in interlocked figure eights about his head and to either side.
Conan The Invincible Jordan, Robert 1982
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For the broadsword, which is always swung in an arc and never employed in stabbing, they say: “The sword seeks the breath line,” which means to them the neck, and thereby the cutting off of the head from the body.
Eaters Of The Dead Crichton, Michael, 1942- 1976
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When comments along the lines of Kelvin MacKenzie's are made at work, I find myself wanting to grab a broadsword and yell things about freedom.
skittledog: Oh, the rich. How they mock you. skittledog 2009
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This problem is even more pronounced in epic fantasy were the barbarian hero can't swing a two-handed broadsword without hitting an ancient prophecy, a royal heir in hiding, orcs, elves or an epic quest to complete.
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When he went upstairs and closed the door to his room, the initial vampire PC was standing behind it with bared broadsword.
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The muscular bronze statue of King Afonso brandishing a broadsword outside his 10th-century fortress is a fitting place to start a stroll through the city.
Within Portugal's Cradle Paul Ames 2012
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Both much prefer to damage opposition defences by putting their head down and charging straight at them rather than flipping the ball to the fly-boys on the wings, and they proved that the broadsword can be just as effective as the rapier.
Jonny Wilkinson primes England blunderbuss to blast Irish hopes | John Harrington 2011
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Skewering with swords and spears seems like small potatoes when Marshall can wield his broadsword and cut a man in half - from top to bottom, not side to side.
Marshall Fine: HuffPost Review: Ironclad Marshall Fine 2011
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I am surprised that the fellow on the subway worked up the gumption to pitch on his book, despite your broadsword and fearsome skull-helmet.
Louises commented on the word broadsword
The blade, a brilliant broadsword, swung - with a sound like a wet branch snapping - through Ellis's neck. From "The Last Werewolf" by Glen Duncan.
March 28, 2012