Scabbard
/ˈskæb.ərd/noun
A sheath for a sword or dagger.
Did you know?The word ultimately comes from a Germanic root meaning a cutting blade, so the sheath’s name and the sword’s name are historically entangled in a way that feels almost ritualistic.
Etymological Timeline
Proto-Indo-European
PIE
*skei-
“to cut, split”
Proto-Germanic
PGmc
*skabardō
“sheath or covering for a sword”
Old English
OE
scæbbed
“sheath, scabbard”
Old French
OF
escabeort / escabeor?
“a sword sheath”
Middle English
English
scabbard
“a sheath for a sword”
Modern English
English
scabbard
“a sheath for a sword or dagger”