Quillon
noun ·Rare ·Advanced level
Definitions
- 1 Synonym of crossguard (“a metal bar fixed between, and at right angles to, the blade and the handle of a sword or other bladed weapon that stops an opponent's similar weapon from sliding along the blade and injuring the hand of the person wielding the sword”).
"Holonym: hilt"
- 2 Either of the two arms of a crossguard. in-plural
"Holonyms: crossguard, guard < hilt"
Synonyms
All synonymsExample
More examples"The Sword of State which is carried before the King at the opening of Parliament is quite a different weapon. It is a long, two-handed sword, with a gold hilt and quillion, and is encased in a crimson velvet scabbard. […] The quillion of the sword is formed of an elongated lion on one side, and a similarly maltreated unicorn on the other."
Etymology
Unadapted borrowing from French quillon (literally “little ninepin”), from quille (“club; ninepin, skittle”) (from the similar appearance) + -on (diminutive suffix). Quille is derived from Middle High German kegel (“club”), from Old High German kegil, from Proto-West Germanic *kagil (“pile, pole, stake; peg, pin”), from *kagō (“bush, shrub”) + *-il (diminutive suffix).
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Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.