Classification of swords The English - language terminology used in the classification of sword s is imprecise , and has varied widely over time , with terms such as " broadsword " , " long sword " , " short - sword " , and " two - handed sword " being used to group together weapons with no particular relation to one another . However in modern times many of these have been given specific meanings ( although sometimes quite arbitrarily ) . Some of these terms originate contemporary with the weapon they refer to , others are modern or early modern terms used by antiquarians , curators , and modern - day sword enthusiasts for historical swords . Terminology was further complicated by terms introduced ( i . e . " hand - and - a - half sword " , " single - handed sword " , " " Pappenheimer " " , " Walloon sword " , " Sinclair Sabre " , " Mortuary sword " , " " spada da lato " " , " town sword " , etc . ) or misinterpreted ( i . e . bastard sword broadsword , rapier , " estoc " , " flamberge " , etc . ) in the 19th century by antiquarians , and in 20th century pop culture ( sword and sorcery , role playing games , video games , etc . ) . Also the addition of new terms to the mix such as " great sword " , " " zweihänder " " ( instead of " Bidenhänder " ) , and " cut - and - thrust sword " . Historical European Martial Arts associations have turned the term " spada da lato " , a term that was coined by Italian curators , into " side - sword " . Furthermore , there is a disregard for the use of the term broadsword by these associations . All these newly introduced or redefined sword terms add to the confusion of the matter . The most well known systematic typology of blade types of the European medieval sword is the Oakeshott typology ( although this is a modern classification and not a medieval one , and has many overlaps ) . Elizabethan s used descriptive terms such as " short " , " bastard " , and " long " which emphasized the length of the blade , and " two - handed " for any sword that could be wielded as such . Size or shape . Terms classifying swords as " great " , " long " , " broad " , " bastard " , " small " , " short " or " two - handed " have different meanings in different contexts and may be ambiguous . In the Elizabethan context the size of swords from smallest to biggest would be as follows : In the German context the size of swords from smallest to biggest would be : In the French context the size of swords from smallest to biggest would be : In the Italian context the size of swords from smallest to biggest would be : Great sword . These include the long sword s in both the Middle Ages and Renaissance , like the " outsized specimens " - between 90 cm and 120 cm - such as the Oakeshott type XIIIa or Oakeshott type XIIa . These swords can be wielded with either one hand or with two hands , but their grip may be designed specifically for one hand , two hands , or the “ hand - and - half ” grip where the off - hand grips the pommel , depending on the preference of the wielder . The Scottish name Claymore ( Gaelic " claidheamh mor " , lit . " great sword " ) can refer to either the longsword with a distinctive two - handed grip , or the basket - hilted sword developing from a rapier . Long sword and bastard sword . These days , the term longsword most frequently refers to a late Medieval and Renaissance weapon designed for use with two hands . The German " langes Schwert " ( " long sword " ) in 15th - century manuals did not necessarily denote a type of weapon , but the technique of fencing with both hands at the hilt . Contemporary use of " long - sword " or " longsword " only resurfaces in the 2000s in the context of reconstruction of the German school of fencing , translating the German " langes Schwert " . The French " épée bâtarde " as well as the English bastard sword originates in the 15th or 16th century , originally as having the general sense of " irregular sword or sword of uncertain origin " . " Qui n ' étoit ni Françoise , ni Espagnole , ni proprement Lansquenette , mais plus grande que pas une de ces fortes épées " ( " [ a sword ] which was neither French , nor Spanish , nor properly " Landsknecht " [ German ] , but longer than any of these sturdy swords . " ) " Espée bastarde " could also historically refer to a single - handed sword with a fairly long blade compared to other short swords . Joseph Swetnam states that the bastard sword is a sword that is midway in length between a short - sword and a long sword , and Randall Cotgrave ' s definition seems to imply this as well . The French " épée de passot " , was also known as " épée bâtarde " ( i . e . bastard sword ) and also " coustille à croix " . ( literally a cross - hilted blade ) , referred to a medieval single - handed sword optimized for thrusting The " épée de passot " was the sidearm of the " franc - archer " s ( French / Breton bowmen of the 15th and 16th centuries ) . The term " passot " comes from the fact that these swords passed ( " passaient " ) the length of a " normal " short - sword . The German term for a bastard sword was " Reitschwert " ( literally a riding sword ) , " " . . . in the early Renaissance the term bastard - sword was also sometimes used to refer to single - hand arming - swords with compound - hilts . A form of German arming sword with a bastard - style compound hilt was called a " Reitschwert " ( " cavalry sword " ) or a " Degen " ( " knight ' s sword " ) " " . The French definition of " passot " is the same as the definition given by Joseph Swetnam in regards to the bastard sword , " " The Bastard Sword , the which Sword is something shorter than a long Sword , and yet longer than a Short sword . " " . The " Masters of Defence " competition organised by Henry VIII in July 1540 listed " two hande sworde " , " bastard sworde " and " longe sworde " as separate items ( as it should in Joseph Swetnam ' s context ) . Antiquarian usage in the 19th century established the use of " bastard sword " as referring unambiguously to these large swords . However , George Silver and Joseph Swetnam refer to them merely as " " two hande sworde " " . The term " hand - and - a - half sword " is modern ( late 19th century ) . During the first half of the 20th century , the term " bastard sword " was used regularly to refer to this type of sword . The Elizabethan long sword ( c . f . George Silver and Joseph Swetnam ) is a single - handed " " cut - and - thrust " " sword with a four foot long blade similar to the long rapier . " " Let thy " ( long ) " Rapier or " ( long ) " Sword be foure foote at the least , and thy dagger two foote " . Historical ( 15th to 16th century ) terms for this type of sword included the Italian " spada longa ( lunga ) " , and French " longue épée " . The term longsword has also been used to refer to different kinds of sword depending on historical context : Broadsword . The basket - hilted sword was a military sword , termed " broad , big , large or great " in contrast with the smallsword . So we thus have " broadsword " terms that have these meanings : It must be noted , that the term broadsword was never used historically to describe the one - handed arming sword . The arming sword was wrongly labelled a broadsword by antiquarians as the medieval swords were similar in blade width to the military swords of the day ( that were also sometimes labeled as broadswords ) and broader than the dueling swords and ceremonial dress swords . Long knife . Knives such as the seax and other blades of similar length - between 1 and 2 feet ( ˜ 30 cm and 60 cm ) - are sometimes construed as “ swords ” . This is especially the case for weapons from antiquity that lack access to the technology for the high quality steel that is necessary for reliable swords of the length of a spatha or longer . Bidenhänder . The " Bidenhänder " or two - hander is the " true " two - handed sword . The " Bidenhänder " was a specialist weapon wielded by certain " Landsknechte Doppelsöldner s " . It is highly doubtful that these two - handed swords were used to chop off the point of pike s ; however , the two - handed sword was an ideal weapon for protecting the standard bearer or a breach since a " Doppelsöldner " armed with one could fend off many attackers by using " moulinet s " . Over - sized two - handers that were not practical weapons were popular as parade swords . Rapier . The rapier ( French " épée rapière " , Spanish " espada ropera " ) . Note that there is no historical Italian equivalent to the English word rapier . The term rapier appeared in the English lexicon via the French " épée rapière " which either compared the weapon to a rasp or file ; or rapier may be a corruption of " rasping sword " which referred to the rasping sound the blade makes when it comes into contact with another blade . Confusingly , the German " rappier " is not the same weapon as the rapier but rather a long sword . " Handedness " . The term two - handed sword , used as a general term , may refer to any large sword designed to be used primarily with two hands : The term " hand - and - a - half sword " is modern ( late 19th century ) . During the first half of the 20th century , the term " bastard sword " was used regularly to refer to this type of sword , while " long sword " or " long - sword " , if used at all , referred to the rapier ( in the context of Renaissance or Early Modern fencing ) . The term " single - handed sword " ( or " one - handed sword " ) is a retronym coined to disambiguate from " two - handed " or " hand - and - a - half " specimens . " Single - handed sword " is used by Sir Walter Scott . It is also used as a possible gloss of the obscure term " tonsword " by Nares ( 1822 ) ; " one - handed sword " is somewhat later , recorded from c . 1850 . Apparently , some swords were designed for left - hand use , although left - handed swords have been described as " a rarity " . Edgeless swords . The edgeless swords category comprises weapons which are related to or labeled as “ swords ” but do not have any cutting edges whatsoever . These long weapons were designed for thrusting blows . The merits of such weapons was greatly disputed in the Renaissance . Panzerstecher and koncerz . The " Panzerstecher " is a German and East European weapon with a long edgeless weapon of square or triangular cross - section for penetrating armour . Early models were either two - handers or “ hand - and - half ” hilted , while later 16th and 17th century models ( also known as " koncerz " ) were one - handed and used by cavalry . Tuck and Verdun . The tuck ( French " estoc " , Italian " stocco " ) is an edgeless blade of square or triangular cross - section used for thrusting . In French , " estoc " also means thrust or point ; and " estoc et taille " means cut and thrust . The tuck may also get its name from the verb " to tuck " which means " to shorten " . Small - sword . The small sword or smallsword ( also court sword , fr : " épée de cour " or dress sword ) is a light one - handed sword designed for thrusting which evolved out of the longer and heavier rapier of the late Renaissance . The height of the small sword ' s popularity was between the mid - 17th and late 18th century . It is thought to have appeared in France and spread quickly across the rest of Europe . The small sword was the immediate predecessor of the French dueling sword ( from which the épée developed ) and its method of use — as typified in the works of such authors as Sieur de Liancour , Domenico Angelo , Monsieur J . Olivier , and Monsieur L ' Abbat — developed into the techniques of the French classical school of fencing . Small swords were also used as status symbols and fashion accessories ; for most of the 18th century anyone , civilian or military , with pretensions to gentlemanly status would have worn a small sword on a daily basis . Hangers and Sabres . Hangers and sabres are single - edged , usually curved bladed swords . Hanger . The hanger ( Obs . " whinyard , whinger , cuttoe " ) , wood - knife or hunting sword is a long knife or short sword that hangs from the belt and was popular as both a hunting tool and weapon of war . Falchion and cutlass . The falchion ( French " braquemart " , Spanish " bracamarte " ) proper is a wide straight - bladed but curved edged hanger or long knife . The term falchion may also refer to the early cutlass . The cutlass or curtal - axe also known as a falchion ( French " badelaire , braquemart , coutelas , malchus " Italian " coltellaccio , storta " , German " messer , dussack , malchus " ) is a broad - bladed curved hanger or long knife . In later usage , the cutlass referred to the short naval boarding sabre . Sabre . The saber ( UK sabre ) or shable ( French " sabre " , Spanish " sable " , Italian " sciabola " , German " sabel " or " säbel " , Russian " sablya " , Hungarian " szablya " , Polish " szabla " ) is a single - edged curved bladed cavalry sword . Scimitar . The scimitar ( French " cimeterre " , Italian " scimitarra " ) is a type of saber that came to refer in general to any sabre used by the Turks or Ottomans ( " kilij " ) , Persians ( " shamshir " ) and more specifically the " Stradioti " ( Albanian and Greek mercenaries who fought in the French - Italian Wars and were employed throughout Western Europe ) . The scimitar proper was the " Stradioti " saber , and the term was introduced into France by Philippe de Commines ( 1447 – 18 October 1511 ) as " cimeterre " , Italy ( especially the Venetian Republic who hired the " stradioti " as mercenaries ) as " scimitarra " , and England as " cimeter " or scimitar via the French and Italian terms .