once upon a time dueling with swords was the gentlemanly way to settle a point of honor
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Here, matching three swords to defeat a rogue computer in a dank basement required enduring 88 grueling rounds.—The New York Times, New York Times, 25 Apr. 2025 The conquistadors raped Indigenous women, chopped off Indians’ hands, used swords as spits to roast Indian babies over fires as their mothers watched.—The New Yorker, New Yorker, 23 Apr. 2025 In the span of one calendar year, Seth Rollins went from a shield to the sword that stabbed his opps in the back.—Alfred Konuwa, Forbes.com, 20 Apr. 2025 The Stone of Tear and the sword within it (Callandor!—ArsTechnica, 18 Apr. 2025 See All Example Sentences for sword
Word History
Etymology
Middle English, from Old English sweord; akin to Old High German swert sword
First Known Use
before the 12th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1
Time Traveler
The first known use of sword was
before the 12th century
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