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Sword vs Shield - What's the difference?

sword | shield |

As nouns the difference between sword and shield

is that sword is a long-bladed weapon having a handle and sometimes a hilt and designed to stab, hew, or slice while shield is anything that protects or defends; defense; shelter; protection.

As a verb shield is

to protect, to defend.

sword

English

Alternative forms

* (l) (obsolete)

Noun

(en noun)
  • (weaponry) A long-bladed weapon having a handle and sometimes a hilt and designed to stab, hew, or slice.
  • * 1591 , William Shakespeare, Henry VI , Part III, Act II, Scene II, line 59.
  • Unsheathe your sword and dub him presently.
  • * 1786 , Francis Grose, A Treatise on Ancient Armour and Weapons , page 49.
  • Some swords were also made solely to thrust, and some only to cut; others were equally adapted for both.
  • Someone paid to handle a sword.
  • (tarot) A suit in the minor arcana in tarot.
  • (tarot) A card of this suit.
  • (weaving) One of the end bars by which the lay of a hand loom is suspended.
  • Derived terms

    * bastardsword * broadsword * double-edged sword * fall on one’s sword * longsword * pork sword * put to the sword * samurai sword * short sword * sword bayonet * swordbill * sword cane * swordcraft * sword dance * sword fern * swordfish * sword grass * sword knot * sword lily * sword of Damocles * swordbearer, sword-bearer * swordbearing, sword-bearing * swordplay * swordsman * swordsmanship * swordstick * sword-swallower

    Coordinate terms

    * (weaponry) bayonet, claymore, cutlass, epee, , falchion, foil, katana, knife, machete, rapier, sabre, saber, scimitar, vorpal, yataghan, yatagan

    Anagrams

    * words 1000 English basic words

    shield

    English

    Etymology 1

    From (etyl) shelde, from (etyl) .

    Noun

    (en noun)
  • Anything that protects or defends; defense; shelter; protection.
  • # A broad piece of defensive armor, carried on the arm, formerly in general use in war, for the protection of the body.
  • #*
  • #*
  • #*
  • #*
  • , title=(The Celebrity), chapter=8 , passage=My client welcomed the judge […] and they disappeared together into the Ethiopian card-room, which was filled with the assegais and exclamation point shields Mr. Cooke had had made at the sawmill at Beaverton.}}
  • # Figuratively, one who protects or defends.
  • #*
  • # (lichenology) In lichens, a hardened cup or disk surrounded by a rim and containing the fructification, or asci.
  • # (mining) A framework used to protect workmen in making an adit under ground, and capable of being pushed along as excavation progresses.
  • # (science fiction) A field of energy that protects or defends.
  • Something shaped like a shield, usually an inverted triangle with slightly curved lower sides.
  • # (heraldry) The escutcheon or field on which are placed the bearings in coats of arms.
  • # A spot resembling, or having the form of a shield.
  • #*
  • # (obsolete) A coin, the old French crown, or , having on one side the figure of a shield.
  • # (label) A sign or symbol, usually containing numbers and sometimes letters, identifying a highway route.
  • # (colloquial, law enforcement) A police badge.
  • #*
  • (geology) A large expanse of exposed stable Precambrian rock.
  • # (geology) A wide and relatively low-profiled volcano, usually composed entirely of lava flows.
  • Hyponyms
    * * * * (hyp-mid3) * * * * (hyp-mid3) * * (hyp-bottom)

    Etymology 2

    From (etyl) scieldan.

    Verb

    (en verb)
  • To protect, to defend.
  • *
  • (electricity) to protect from the influence of
  • Anagrams

    *