Backsword
noun
noun ·Rare ·Advanced level
Definitions
Noun
- 1 A sword with one sharp edge.
"It [the dáo of the Nágá tribe, south-east of Assam] is a thick, heavy backsword, eighteen inches long, with a bevel where the point should be, worn at the waist in a half-scabbard of wood, and used for digging as well as killing."
- 2 a sword with only one cutting edge wordnet
- 3 A stick with a basket handle, used in rustic amusements. UK, dated
- 4 a stick used instead of a sword for fencing wordnet
- 5 The game in which the stick is used. UK, dated
"One afternoon, as the missionary and I were sitting outside our tents, my attention was attracted towards a group of sepahis engaged under a banyantree, playing the game of backsword […]"
Example
More examples"I can hold my own, both with single rapier, backsword, sword and dagger, broadsword, or case of falchions."
Etymology
From back + sword.
More for "backsword"
Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.