sheathe the sword

English

Verb

sheathe the sword (third-person singular simple present sheathes the sword, present participle sheathing the sword, simple past and past participle sheathed the sword)

(idiomatic) To end a battle; to make peace.
- 1777, John Wilkes, The Conquest of the Americans:
  My wish and hope, therefore, is, that it will be rejected by this House; and that another, dutiful yet decent, manly address, will be presented to his majesty, praying that he would sheathe the sword, prevent the further effusion of the blood of our fellow subjects, and adopt some mode of negotiation with the general Congress, in compliance with their repeated petition, thereby restoring peace and harmony to this distracted empire.

References

“sheathe”, in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.: G. & C. Merriam, 1913, →OCLC.

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