porte-épée

English

Etymology

From French porte-épée.

Noun

porte-épée

1. A strap, buckle or other fastening by which a sword or scabbard is held attached to a person's belt, clothing etc.

   Synonym: frog

   • 1987, Alaric Faulkner, Gretchen Fearon Faulkner, The French at Pentagoet, page 251:

     An additional strap extends from the porte-épée and hooks onto the front of the belt with another clasp to stabilize the arrangement.

   • 2002, Josepth Roth, translated by Michael Hofmann, The Radetsky March, Folio Society, published 2015, page 134:

     He held the porte-épée in his hand. The metalled silk seemed to trickle between his fingers, like cool golden rain.

French

Etymology

Literally, “sword carrier”.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /pɔʁ.te.pe/

• Audio

  (file)

Noun

porte-épée m (plural porte-épées)

1. (historical, military) porte-épée
2. a swordtail (fish)
   • 1999, Canadian Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences, volume 56, page 830:

     […] ont été exposés à des extraits de tissus de saumon quinnat ou de porte-épée (Xiphophorus helleri).

Descendants

• → English: porte-épée
• → German: Portepee

Further reading

• “porte-épée”, in Trésor de la langue française informatisé [Digitized Treasury of the French Language], 2012.