the.com/sword
a problem-solving tool from an era when most problems were other people
means A long-bladed weapon with a hilt, designed for cutting or thrusting, the classic sidearm of warriors before firearms took over.
from From Old English 'sweord,' descending from a Proto-Germanic root (cousins survive in German 'Schwert' and Dutch 'zwaard'). Older connections beyond Germanic are murky, though some link it to a root meaning 'to cut' or 'to wound' — fitting for a thing whose whole job was harm. The silent 'w' is a fossil: English speakers once actually pronounced it, swirling the word as 's-word' before centuries of lazy mouths smoothed it into 'sord.'
- folding steel
- Katana steel folded up to a thousand layers
- status symbol
- Knights' swords cost a year's wages
- sharper sound
- Real blades whistle, not the movie ring
- buried with kings
- Sutton Hoo sword survived 1,300 years underground
- left-side draw
- Worn left so the right hand draws clean
excalibur — legendary sword of king arthur, described in arthurian literature and medieval texts
kusanagi — sacred sword in japanese mythology, one of three imperial regalia of japan
honjo masamune — japanese katana crafted by masamune, considered one of the greatest swords ever made, 14th century
wallace sword — broadsword wielded by william wallace, displayed at national wallace monument in stirling, scotland