Langschwert

From lang (“long”) +‎ Schwert (“sword”); univerbation of indefinite ein lang Schwert (17th century) to definite das Langschwert by the 1830s. In recent usage (2000s) also of the Renaissance-era two-handed bastard-sword or "longsword".

• IPA^(key): /ˈlaŋˌʃveːɐ̯t/
• Hyphenation: Lang‧schwert

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Langschwert n (strong, genitive Langschwertes or Langschwerts, plural Langschwerter)

1. (antiquarian) longsword; any type of long sword, specifically of the Germanic spatha
   • 1839 Das Langschwert wußt' er riesenhaft zu schwingen ("he [Olaf Tryggvason] could swing the long-sword in the manner of a giant") Adam Oehlenschläger, Der Heilige Olaf.
   • 1867 Das Langschwert ward an einem Gürtel an der linken Hüfte getragen, das Halbschwert and der rechten, in der Regel mit Ketten am Ringhemd befestigt. ("[in the context of Waltharius, c. AD 920] the long-sword [spatha] was worn on a baldric on the left hip, the half-sword [scramasax] on the right, usually attached to the mail-shirt [hauberk] with chains.") Albert Schulz, Zur Waffenkunde des älteren deutschen Mittelalters, p. 131.
2. (medieval history) as a proper name, calque of the sobriquet of Guillaume Longue Épée (d. 942)