rapier

See also: Rapier and rąpier

English

Etymology 1

Borrowed from Middle French rapiere, from Middle French (espee) rapiere, from Old French rapiere, raspiere, from Spanish raspadera (“poker; raker; scraper”), from Spanish raspar (“to scrape”), of Germanic origin. More at rasp.

Pronunciation

• (UK) IPA^(key): /ˈɹeɪpˌɪə(ɹ)/

Noun

rapier (plural rapiers)

1. A slender, straight, sharply pointed sword (double-edged, single-edged or edgeless), designed predominantly for thrusting; used during the Renaissance period of Europe for civilian duelling
   • c. 1599–1602 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Tragedie of Hamlet, Prince of Denmarke”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act IV, scene i]:

     […] In his lawless fit,
     Behind the arras hearing something stir,
     Whips out his rapier, cries ‘A rat, a rat!’
     And in this brainish apprehension kills
     The unseen good old man.

   • 1911, G. K. Chesterton, “The Sins of Prince Saradine”, in The Innocence of Father Brown:

     The man beside him with the earrings and the big black case proceeded to unlock it. He took out of it two long Italian rapiers, with splendid steel hilts and blades, which he planted point downwards in the lawn.

Derived terms

• rapier-fish

Translations

slender straight sharply pointed sword

• Arabic: سَيْفٌ ذُو حَدَّيْن m (sayfun ḏū ḥaddayn), سَيْفُ الْمُبَارَزَة m (sayfu l-mubāraza), مِغْوَل m (miḡwal)
• Armenian: սուսեր (hy) (suser)
• Bulgarian: рапира (bg) f (rapira)
• Catalan: estoc (ca) m
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 護手刺劍／护手刺剑 (hùshǒu cìjiàn)

• Czech: rapír m
• Dutch: rapier (nl) n
• Esperanto: rapiro
• Finnish: rapiiri
• French: rapière (fr) f
• Galician: estoque m
• German: Florett (de) n, Rapier (de) n, Stoßdegen m
• Italian: stocco (it) m
• Japanese: レイピア (reipia)
• Kazakh: рапира (rapira)
• Korean: 레이피어 (reipieo)
• Macedonian: рапи́р m (rapír)
• Manx: cliwe keyl m
• Marathi: रेपियर f (repiyar)
• Ottoman Turkish: شیش (şiş)
• Polish: rapier (pl) m
• Portuguese: florete (pt) m, rapieira f
• Romanian: rapieră (ro) f
• Russian: рапи́ра (ru) f (rapíra), шпа́га (ru) f (špága)
• Spanish: estoque (es) m, espada ropera f
• Swedish: rapir c, värja (sv) c
• Volapük: steigaden (vo)

Adjective

rapier (not comparable)

1. Extremely sharp.
2. Cutting; employing keen wit.

   John is very quick on his feet during interviews by using his rapier responses.

Etymology 2

Adjective

rapier

1. comparative form of rapey: more rapey

Anagrams

• pairer, repair

Dutch

Etymology

Borrowed from Middle French (espee) rapiere.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /raːˈpiːr/

• Audio:

  (file)

• Hyphenation: ra‧pier
• Rhymes: -iːr

Noun

rapier n (plural rapieren, diminutive rapiertje n)

1. rapier

Coordinate terms

• degen

Polish

Alternative forms

• rapir (obsolete)

Etymology

Borrowed from French rapière. First attested in 1597.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈra.pjɛr/

• Audio:

  (file)

• Rhymes: -apjɛr
• Syllabification: ra‧pier

Noun

rapier m inan

1. rapier

Declension

Declension of rapier

	singular	plural
nominative	rapier	rapiery
genitive	rapiera/rapieru	rapierów
dative	rapierowi	rapierom
accusative	rapier	rapiery
instrumental	rapierem	rapierami
locative	rapierze	rapierach
vocative	rapierze	rapiery

Further reading

• rapier in Wielki słownik języka polskiego, Instytut Języka Polskiego PAN
• rapier in Polish dictionaries at PWN