rapier

[ rey-pee-er ]

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.

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

Derived Forms

• ˈrapier-ˌlike, adjective

Other Words From

• rapi·ered adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of rapier¹

1545–55; < Middle French ( espee ) rapiere literally, rasping (sword); rape ³

Word History and Origins

Origin of rapier¹

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

Example Sentences

Rapier shopped the script around, but thankfully no one wanted to pick it up.

From The Daily Beast

A rapier and a dagger found on the Thames foreshore show us that swordfights routinely broke out on the streets of London.

From The Daily Beast

A leather swordbelt, gold-embroidered at the edges, carried a long steel-halted rapier in a leather scabbard chaped with steel.

From Project Gutenberg

As you are doubtless aware, between civilians the small-sword, the rapier and the pistol are what are usually employed.

From Project Gutenberg

Half frantic, I dashed forward, snatching as I did so a rapier from the wall, the only weapon handy.

From Project Gutenberg

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.

From Project Gutenberg

Routledge, with a studio in Rome, and having been educated at a German university, is familiar with the use of the rapier.

From Project Gutenberg

Related Words

• blade
• dagger
• weapon