This week we present words derived from various swords and the like. Not the endless names of types of swords -- epee, foil, saber, etc. -- but words that trace back to swords.

spathe - a leaflike bract enclosing a flower cluster or spadix, as in the jack-in-the-pulpit and the calla. [Latin spatha = broadsword]

That's the dictionary definition. For those (including me) for whom this is clear as mud, consult this pair of pictures.

We return to our sword-theme. The top part of a sword blade, from its midpoint to tip, is weaker than the bottom half from hilt to mid-point. These weak and strong halves are respectively called the foible and the forte, and those meanings led to usages now more common.

foible – a minor weakness or failing of character

forte – something in which a person excels
[Note per AHD: forte should properly be pronounced with one syllable, like the English word fort. Common usage, however, prefers the two-syllable pronunciation, which has been influenced possibly by the music term forte borrowed from Italian.]

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"He loved anything that was free," sighs the 25-year-old woman as she recalls her former boyfriend's main foible. "We only ever went to places that didn't cost anything, like factory tours and housing shows. Once while visiting a beer factory, he said, "Isn't this great -- it's all you can drink for the beer and even the snacks are free!"
– Geoff Botting, To date on the cheap, all you need is brains, The Japan Times, Sept. 14, 2003

The outside-half from New Zealand was prepared to run himself, but his forte was delivering sweet little passes to his centres ...
– Rugby report in The Observer, Sept. 28, 2003

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claymore mine - an anti-personnel land mine that discharges blast fragments in a predetermined direction, set towards the enemy

after claymore - a large two-handed, double-edged broadsword, formerly used by Scottish Highlanders (the term is also used for another type of sword)
from Gael. claidheamh sword + mór great, large

I love the first quote here.

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In "the braw yawnie", two very large men in vests and kilts circle each other, each one trying to out-yawn the other. The sport dates back to a long-running feud between the MacGregor and Macpherson clans in the 14th century. The MacGregors had been tipped off that the Macphersons were going to mount a raid ... The MacGregors knew they would be outnumbered and they had scarcely a decent claymore between them, let alone a skean-dhu, so they devised a sneaky plan. As the Macphersons burst roaring into their encampment they all stood up and, in unison, gave a great big yawn. The invaders were so astonished at this mass display of nonchalance that they turned and fled.
- Oliver Pritchett, Another view, The Telegraph, Sept. 10, 2003

and just today, an hour ago:
Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu escaped with minor injuries while his Cabinet colleague B. Gopalakrishna Reddy and a paty MLA Ch. Krishnamoorthy sustained injuries when suspected naxalites blasted a claymore mine when his convoy was entering the ghat section of the road near Alipiri in Tirupati of Chittoor district on Wednesday evening.
- Claymore attack: Naidu, Minister hospitalised, The Hindu [India's National Newspaper], Oct. 1, 2003

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Bonus word:
skean-dhu or sgian-dhu - a small black-hilted dagger tucked into the top of a man’s knee sock in Highland dress [from Gaelic, literally "black skean"]

Sometimes it seems that there is a specific, obscure word for every shape. At least three separate words mean "sword-shaped." Could this indicate the past importance of the sword?

gladiate - sword-shaped
(akin to gladiator. The gladiolus is a familiar flowering plant with sword-shaped leaves, and is also known as "sword lily".)
ensiform - sword-shaped (from Latin ensis sword; akin to Sanskrit asi sword)
xiphoid - sword-shaped

In anatomy, the main part of the breastbone ("sternum") is called the gladiolus, and the bottom part is called the xiphoid process, the xiphisternum, or the xiphoid.

Regarding the pronunciation of "forte," I have never heard anyone pronounce it anything other than "for-TAY" even when they are fully aware that correctly (technically, anyway) it's simply "FORT."

There was an old Laurel & Hardy exchange where Stanley referred to the two of them as being as comfortable "as two peas in a pot." The jarring nature of the word "pot," the source obviously of the humor here, strikes me as similar to, for example, "The proper use of the English language is my FORT." It's correct but it simply sounds totally off.

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Originally posted by wordcrafter:
In anatomy, the main part of the breastbone ("sternum") is called the _gladiolus,_ and the bottom part is called the _xiphoid process,_ the _xiphisternum,_ or the _xiphoid._

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...except, as you point out, when it's called the "ensiform process" !

(Minor addition: the terminology I was taught had the sternum divided into three parts: the upper part was the "manubrium sternum" (the hand of the sternum); the main body was the "corpus sterni"; and the lowermost, pointiest part was the "ensiform process", also known as the xiphoid process, as above. All three do bear a vague resemblance to the shape of their namesake.

Why Latin, Greek and English should be mixed together like that was never made clear.)

swashbuckler – a swaggering or daring soldier, swordsman, or adventurer;
or a novel or drama dealing with a such a character
from swash heavy noisy blow + buckler shield

According to Word Detective, "swashbuckler" originally meant a braggart, bully or ruffian, a mediocre swordsman who compensated by making a great deal of noise, strutting through the streets banging his sword on his shield, challenging passersby to duels, and just generally acting like a lout.

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Portland's standards are high. We want a mayor who's a bit of a swashbuckler, prepared to step in and be a hero, as needed, whether that calls for killing a freeway, enticing a department store to locate here, or strong-arming a deal to save the Portland school year.
– The Oregonian, Sept. 5, 2003

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seif dune – a sharp-crested sand dune with curved edges, often several miles long. (Up to 200 miles long and 300 feet high, say some sources; others give lower figures.) Runs in a series of parallel ridges; found in hot deserts and common in the Sahara.

From Arabic sayf (= sword). So the dune is a "sword dune".

"Saif" seems to be a common given name in Arabic; for example, the son of Libyan leader Moamer Kadhafi is named Seif el-Islam Kadhafi, "Sword of Islam" Kadhafi. Westerners would not typically give male babies such first names as "Bullet," "Rifle," etc. It strikes your author as a notable cultural difference.

sword of Damocles - something that threatens imminent disaster

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North Korea has always been the sword of Damocles hanging over Japan. Now, many Japanese feel that North Korea is aiming its sharpest and most lethal dagger at Japan's heart - its nuclear weapons programme.
-- Views of veteran Japanese journalist Yoichi Funabashi, recounted by Felix Soh, The Straits Times (Singapore), Sept. 21, 2003

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The term "sword of Damocles" is from a legend told by Cicero (106-43 BCE), Tusculan Disputations V. Perhaps our latin scholars tell me whether the following accurately translates Cicero's original.

Dionysius himself [the king of Syracuse in the time of Plato] was talking to one of his flatterers, a man called Damocles, who praised the monarch’s wealth and power, the splendors of his regime, the immensity of his resources, and the magnificence of his palace. Never, Damocles declared, had there been a happier man than Dionysius the king.

"Very well, Damocles," replied the ruler, "since my life strikes you as so attractive, would you care to have a taste of it yourself and see what my way of living is really like?" Damocles agreed with pleasure. So Dionysius had him installed on a golden couch covered with a superb woven coverlet embroidered with beautiful designs, and beside the couch was placed an array of sideboards loaded with gold and silver plate. . . There were perfumes and garlands and incense, and the tables were heaped up with a most elaborate feast. Damocles thought himself a truly fortunate person.

But in the middle of all this splendor, directly above the neck of the happy man, Dionysius arranged that a gleaming sword should be suspended from the ceiling, to which it was attached by a horsehair. And so Damocles had no eye for his lovely waiters or for the artistic plate. Indeed, he did not even feel like reaching out his hand towards the food. Presently the garlands, of their own accord, just slipped from his head. In the end he begged the tyrant to let him go, declaring that his desire to be happy had evaporated.

Reviving an old theme, because the point has been nettling:

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Regarding the pronunciation of "forte," I have never heard anyone pronounce it anything other than "for-TAY" even when they are fully aware that correctly (technically, anyway) it's simply "FORT."...

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Yes, but should we assume it's French? Why not Italian? I don't think there's much argument about how to pronounce forte-piano (FORTAY-PIANO), which can play loud or soft depending on how hard you strike the keys, as opposed to a harpsichord or organ where tricks are needed to change their volume.

Most words to do with fencing and duelling are from the French. Why should forte be different?

Dunno, maybe because this particular word (despite being in a swordsmanship thread) has to do with loudness and strength, not duelling?

EDIT: Never mind, I'm rehashing old ground. [How's that for mixing metaphors?] See Wordcrafters original post of 9/30, nine months above, referring to the AHD comment on this very subject.

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Yes, but should we assume it's French? Why not Italian? I don't think there's much argument about how to pronounce forte-piano (FORTAY-PIANO), which can play loud or soft depending on how hard you strike the keys, as opposed to a harpsichord or organ where tricks are needed to change their volume.

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Forte, referring to a part of a sword or a person's strong point, is from the French. Pianoforte (I've never heard of forte-piano before) is from Italian. Piano means soft and forte means loud. See wordcrafter's Sep 29 post above and the AHD's Usage Note. Also see pianoforte. Or, if you prefer, forte-piano.

I learned something today. Pianoforte is a noun referring to the instrument, and forte-piano can be a noun but more often is an adverb or adjective referring to musical direction. At least, that's what the AHD says.

Tinman

If I may turn the conversation to playing cards, we derive "spade" from the Greek sword...

Spade (2) - "figure on playing cards," 1598, probably from It. spade, pl. of spada "sword, spade," from L. spatha "broad, flat weapon or tool," from Gk. spathe "broad blade." From same PIE base as spade (1).

Source: etymonline.com

Despite the initial admonition, I hope wordcrafter will indulge an interesting passage on foil/epee/saber:

If you wish to know about a fencer, go up to him as he faces a practice target. Pop a balloon behind his back. The foilist will immediately lunge at the pad. The epeeist will stand his ground, immobile but alert. The sabreur will swing round and assault you.

(from "By the Sword")

(from "By the Sword")

Which reminds me of two favorite words: sabretache 'a kind of purse a Hussar would carry' and Portepee German for sword knot, the dangly bit off a sword's hilt.