guisarme
Definitions
from The Century Dictionary and Cyclopedia
- noun A long-handled weapon resembling the pole-ax, or in some cases more nearly resembling the halberd, but having a long edge for cutting and a straight sharp point in the line of the handle. By some authors it is confounded with the pole-ax.
Examples
-
This abundance of odd words can be a double-edged sword, or perhaps a guisarme of linguistic confusion amidst an arsenal of linguistic joy.
-
If youre in need of a blade, Alexander, my guisarme is in the entryway.
-
Reaching the guardroom above, Sir Pertinax called lustily for sword and bascinet, and thereafter chose divers likely weapons for his companions who, with axe and pike and guisarme on shoulder, followed him out into the free air.
-
He had, too -- and glad enough was he of it at that moment -- the deadly guisarme, that old-fashioned weapon that combined a spear and scythe, and was used with horrible effect in the charges of the day.
Note
The word 'guisarme' came into English via Old French, but its ultimate origin is unknown.
