scabbard

[ skab-erd ]

noun

1. a sheath for a sword or the like.

verb (used with object)

1. to put into a scabbard; sheathe.

scabbard

/ ˈskæbəd /

noun

1. a holder for a bladed weapon such as a sword or bayonet; sheath

Other Words From

• scabbard·less adjective
• un·scabbard verb (used with object)

Word History and Origins

Origin of scabbard¹

1250–1300; Middle English scalburde, scauberge (compare Anglo-French escauberz, escauberge, Medieval Latin escauberca ) ≪ dissimilated variant of Old High German *skārberga sword-protection. See shear, harbor

Word History and Origins

Origin of scabbard¹

C13 scauberc, from Norman French escaubers (pl), of Germanic origin; related to Old High German skār blade and bergan to protect

Example Sentences

Flashing his club as a sword, he targeted the hole as the bull and completed the routine by wiping the imagined blood off the blade and returning it to an invisible scabbard with a flourish.

From Los Angeles Times

Slowly, she drew a sword from her back, where it had been held in place by a scabbard shaped out of her own hair.

From Literature

Their leader Meir Simcha, who walked round the outpost armed with a large machete in a leather scabbard, said that unlike other Israelis they had not been surprised by the Hamas assault on 7 October.

From BBC

The sword is in a scabbard covered with 2,600 pearls and the ceremony is a symbolic show of mutual respect between two historical powerbases, the monarchy and the City of London.

From BBC

He also found worked wood in an adjacent niche that turned out to be parts of the swords' scabbards.

From BBC

Related Words

• coat