backsword

English

Etymology

back +‎ sword

Noun

backsword (plural backswords)

1. A sword with one sharp edge.
   • 1884, Robert F. Burton, The Book of the Sword, page 140:

     It 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. (UK, dated) A stick with a basket handle, used in rustic amusements.
3. (UK, dated) The game in which the stick is used.

   (Can we find and add a quotation of Halliwell to this entry?)

Synonyms

• (stick with basket handle): singlestick

Derived terms

• backswordman

Translations

a sword with one sharp edge

• Manx: cliwe ghrommey f
• (deprecated template usage) {{trans-mid}}

Anagrams

• backwords