Skip to main content
  1. scimitar (noun)
    a curved oriental saber; the edge is on the convex side of the blade
  2. scimitar (Noun)
    A sword of Persian origin that features a curved blade.
  3. Scimitar 
    A scimitar is a backsword or sabre with a curved blade, originating in Southwest Asia. The Arabic term saif translates to "sword" in general, but is normally taken to refer to the scimitar type of curved backsword in particular. The curved sword or "scimitar" was widespread throughout the Muslim world from at least the Ottoman period, with early examples dating to Abbasid era Khurasan. The type harks back to the makhaira type of antiquity, but the Arabic term saif is a loan from Greek xiphos. The Persian sword now called "shamshir" appears by the 12th century and was popularized in Persia by the early 16th century, and had "relatives" in Turkey, the Mughal Empire.
Origin: The word scimitar, known in English since 1548, derived from Medieval French cimeterre (15c.) or directly from Italian scimitarra, of unknown origin. Ottoman Turkish would be the expected source, but no such word has been found there.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

gaslight

gaslight   (noun) light yielded by the combustion of illuminating gas gaslight   (Noun) The light produced by burning piped illuminating gas. gaslight   (Noun) A lamp which operates by burning gas. gaslight   (Verb) To manipulate someone psychologically such that they question their own sanity. Gaslight   Gaslight is a 1944 mystery-thriller film adapted from Patrick Hamilton's play, Gas Light, performed as Angel Street on Broadway in 1941. It was the second version to be filmed; the first, released in the United Kingdom, had been made a mere four years earlier. This 1944 version of the story was directed by George Cukor and starred Ingrid Bergman, Charles Boyer, Joseph Cotten, and 18-year-old Angela Lansbury in her screen debut. It had a larger scale and budget and lends a different feel to the material than the earlier film.
Post a Comment
Read more
"I want to stay as close to the edge as I can without going over. Out on the edge you see all kinds of things you can't see from the centre." Kurt Vonnegut Jr. » Kurt Vonnegut Jr. was an American writer. In a career spanning over 50 years, Vonnegut published 14 novels, three short story collections, five plays, and five works of non-fiction. He is most famous for his darkly satirical, best-selling novel Slaughterhouse-Five.
Post a Comment
Read more