rapier

[ rey-pee-er ]
See synonyms for rapier on Thesaurus.com
noun
  1. a small sword, especially of the 18th century, having a narrow blade and used for thrusting.

  2. a longer, heavier sword, especially of the 16th and 17th centuries, having a double-edged blade and used for slashing and thrusting.

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Origin of rapier

1
1545–55; <Middle French (espee) rapiere literally, rasping (sword); see rape3

Other words from rapier

  • ra·pi·ered, adjective

Words Nearby rapier

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use rapier in a sentence

  • But the next moment he was on his feet, his rapier firmly gripped once more, for all that his arm still felt a trifle numbed.

    St. Martin's Summer | Rafael Sabatini
  • Routledge, with a studio in Rome, and having been educated at a German university, is familiar with the use of the rapier.

British Dictionary definitions for rapier

rapier

/ (ˈreɪpɪə) /


noun
  1. a long narrow two-edged sword with a guarded hilt, used as a thrusting weapon, popular in the 16th and 17th centuries

  2. a smaller single-edged 18th-century sword, used principally in France

Origin of rapier

1
C16: from Old French espee rapiere, literally: rasping sword; see rasp 1

Derived forms of rapier

  • rapier-like, adjective

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012