Light-"sabers"?

[The Dark]

Saber \Sa"ber\, Sabre \Sa"bre\, n. [F. sabre, G. s["a]bel; of uncertain origin; cf. Hung. sz['a]blya, Pol. szabla, Russ. sabla, and L. Gr. zabo`s crooked, curved.] A sword with a broad and heavy blade, thick at the back, and usually more or less curved like a scimiter; a cavalry sword.

Let this end the dispute: a saber is usually but not always curved. From some of the examining I've done, it seems that Cossack sabers were not curved (although that could be the pic quality, the angle is slightly odd). If you go here: http://www.vaulscastle.com/armory.htm, the fourth picture down is a Civil War saber, and the curve is barely noticeable.

Actually, lightsaber does make sense for pure script reasons, particularly when you think about calling it a lighthand-and-a-half-sword . Of course, Luke's style always looked more like longsword to me than saber, with the stances he used.

[Perinquus]

Saber \Sa"ber\, Sabre \Sa"bre\, n. [F. sabre, G. s["a]bel; of uncertain origin; cf. Hung. sz['a]blya, Pol. szabla, Russ. sabla, and L. Gr. zabo`s crooked, curved.] A sword with a broad and heavy blade, thick at the back, and usually more or less curved like a scimiter; a cavalry sword.

Let this end the dispute: a saber is usually but not always curved. From some of the examining I've done, it seems that Cossack sabers were not curved (although that could be the pic quality, the angle is slightly odd). If you go here: http://www.vaulscastle.com/armory.htm, the fourth picture down is a Civil War saber, and the curve is barely noticeable.

Actually, lightsaber does make sense for pure script reasons, particularly when you think about calling it a lighthand-and-a-half-sword . Of course, Luke's style always looked more like longsword to me than saber, with the stances he used.

Don't confuse the dictionary definition with the definition specialists in that subject use. I remember Mike pointing out that the dictionary definition of scientific terminology, while useful to the layman, was not what scientists use when determining the exact meaning of a particular term. It's somewhat the same in this case regarding sabers and those who study swords and their history. Historians of the sword and weapons collectors will not generally recognize any straight-bladed sword as a proper saber.

And incidentally, the particular kind of sword favored by the cossacks was called a shashqa, and they are curved - quite strongly in fact. You can always recognize them easily when in the scabbard, since the suspension loops are on the "wrong" side. Shashqa's were hung from the belt with the edge upwards, and usually (but not always) they lack knuckleguards.

[Perinquus]

Oh, and I just noticed, it says not: "usually more or less curved", period; but: "usually more or less curved like a scimitar".

Take a look at a real scimitar (also known as a shamshir) some time. It usuall has an extreme curve. It is so curved in order to correspond perfectly to the arc made by the arm, and thus to make a drawcut as long as possible. I think the dictionary definition is drawing a comparison between the saber's form, and that of the scimitar, which is always curved.

Here's a link so you can see what kind of weapon I'm referring to:


http://www.vikingsword.com/ethsword/shamshir/