sabre

See also: sabré and Sâbre

English

A British 1796 pattern light cavalry sabre

Alternative forms

• saber (chiefly US)

Etymology

Borrowed from French sabre, from German Säbel, from Polish szabla, from Hungarian szablya. Cognate with Danish sabel, Russian са́бля (sáblja), Serbo-Croatian сабља, Sicilian sciàbbula.

Pronunciation

• (UK) IPA^(key): /ˈseɪ.bə(ɹ)/

• Audio (Southern England):

  (file)

• (US, Canada) IPA^(key): /ˈseɪ.bɚ/
• Rhymes: -eɪbə(ɹ)
• Hyphenation: sa‧bre

Noun

sabre (plural sabres)

1. (British spelling, Canadian spelling) A light sword, sharp along the front edge, part of the back edge, and at the point.
   • 1769, Firishta, translated by Alexander Dow, Tales translated from the Persian of Inatulla of Delhi, volume I, Dublin: P. and W. Wilson et al., page 6:

     Jewan Sadit, who ſtood before the prince, obſerving his youthful temerity, threw himſelf between him and danger, and with a nervous arm, wielding a ſharp ſabre, of the hard tempered ſteel of Damiſk, ruſhing upon the tyger, he ſtruck him acroſs the forehead.

2. (British spelling, Canadian spelling, fencing) A modern fencing sword modeled after the sabre.

Usage notes

This spelling has become relatively common in the United States due to the Buffalo Sabres hockey team as well as the occasional tendency to use British spellings for archaic nouns (compare theater versus theatre).

Derived terms

• false sabre-toothed cat
• lightsaber, lightsabre
• rattle a sabre
• rattle one's sabre
• rattle the sabre
• sabrage
• sabre carp
• sabre leg
• sabre-rattle
• sabre rattle
• sabre-rattling
• sabre rattling
• sabre saw
• sabre-tooth
• sabre-toothed
• sabre-toothed cat
• sabre-toothed tiger

 

Translations

light sword, sharp along the front edge, part of the back edge, and at the point

• Azerbaijani: qılınc (az)
• Bashkir: ҡылыс (qılıs)
• Basque: sable (eu), sabre
• Bats: თურ (tur)
• Belarusian: ша́бля f (šáblja), ша́шка f (šáška)
• Bulgarian: са́бя (bg) f (sábja)
• Catalan: sabre (ca) m
• Chechen: тур (tur)
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 佩劍／佩剑 (zh) (pèijiàn), 馬刀／马刀 (zh) (mǎdāo), 戰刀／战刀 (zh) (zhàndāo), 軍刀／军刀 (zh) (jūndāo)

• Czech: šavle (cs) f
• Danish: sabel c
• Dutch: sabel (nl) m
• Esperanto: sabro
• Estonian: saabel (et)
• Finnish: säilä (fi), sapeli (fi)
• French: sabre (fr) m
• Galician: sabre (gl) m
• Georgian: ხმალი (ka) (xmali), მახვილი (maxvili)
• German: Säbel (de) m
• Greek: σπαθί (el) n (spathí), μάχαιρα (el) f (máchaira)

  Ancient: ξιφομάχαιρα f (xiphomákhaira)

• Hindi: सेबर m (sebar)
• Hungarian: szablya (hu)
• Icelandic: sveðja f
• Italian: sciabola (it) f
• Japanese: サーベル (ja) (sāberu)
• Kalmyk: селм (selm), чашк (çaşk), мишл (mişl)
• Kashubian: szabla f
• Kazakh: қылыш (qylyş)
• Korean: 군도(軍刀) (ko) (gundo), 사브르 (sabeureu)
• Kyrgyz: кылыч (kılıc)
• Latin: xiphomachaera f
• Latvian: zobens m
• Lithuanian: kardas (lt) m (curved), palašas m (straight)
• Macedonian: сабја f (sabja)
• Manx: cliwe markee m
• Maori: hoari piko
• Marathi: सेबर f (sebar)
• Mongolian:

  Cyrillic: сэлэм (mn) (selem)

• Navajo: diltłish
• Ngazidja Comorian: upanga class 11/10, panga class 9/10
• Northern Altai: кылыч (kïlïč)
• Norwegian:

  Bokmål: sabel m

• Occitan: sabre (oc) m
• Old East Slavic: саблꙗ f (sablja)
• Plautdietsch: Säbel m
• Polish: szabla (pl) f
• Portuguese: sabre (pt) m
• Romanian: sabie (ro) f
• Russian: са́бля (ru) f (sáblja), ша́шка (ru) f (šáška)
• Scottish Gaelic: claidheamh crom m
• Serbo-Croatian:

  Cyrillic: са̏бља f

  Roman: sȁblja (sh) f

• Slovak: šabľa f
• Slovene: sablja (sl) f
• Southern Altai: кылыч (kïlïč), кылыш (kïlïš)
• Spanish: sable (es) m
• Swedish: sabel (sv) c
• Tagalog: sable
• Tatar: кылыч (tt) (qılıç)
• Turkish: kılıç (tr)
• Ukrainian: ша́бля (uk) f (šáblja), ша́шка f (šáška)
• Uzbek: qilich (uz)

modern fencing sword modeled after the sabre

• Belarusian: ша́бля f (šáblja)
• Bulgarian: са́бя (bg) f (sábja)
• Catalan: sabre (ca) m
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 佩劍／佩剑 (zh) (pèijiàn)

• Czech: šavle (cs) f
• Dutch: sabel (nl) m
• Esperanto: sabro
• Finnish: säilä (fi)
• Galician: sabre (gl)
• German: Säbel (de) m
• Hindi: सेबर m (sebar)
• Italian: sciabola (it) f
• Japanese: サーブル (sāburu)
• Korean: 사브르 (sabeureu)
• Lithuanian: kardas (lt) m (curved)
• Macedonian: сабја f (sabja)
• Marathi: सेबर f (sebar)
• Norwegian:

  Bokmål: sabel m

• Polish: szabla (pl) f
• Portuguese: sabre (pt) m
• Russian: са́бля (ru) f (sáblja)
• Scottish Gaelic: claidheamh crom m
• Spanish: sable (es) m
• Turkish: kılıç (tr)
• Ukrainian: ша́бля (uk) f (šáblja)

Verb

sabre (third-person singular simple present sabres, present participle sabring, simple past and past participle sabred)

1. (British spelling, Canadian spelling, transitive) To strike or kill with a sabre.
2. (British spelling, Canadian spelling, transitive) To open (a bottle) via sabrage.

Quotations

• For quotations using this term, see Citations:sabre.

See also

• en coup de sabre
• sabrer
• sabreur

Anagrams

• saber, bares, rabes, besra, Saber, Bears, baser, Brase, barse, bears, BSAer, Breas, Bares, braes

Asturian

Noun

sabre m (plural sabres)

1. Alternative form of sable

Basque

Alternative forms

• sable

Noun

sabre

1. sabre, saber

Catalan

Etymology

Borrowed from French sabre, from German Säbel.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): (Central) [ˈsa.βɾə]
• IPA^(key): (Balearic) [ˈsa.bɾə]
• IPA^(key): (Valencia) [ˈsa.bɾe]

Noun

sabre m (plural sabres)

1. sabre
2. the silver scabbardfish (Lepidopus caudatus)

   Synonyms: cinturó, serp de mar

Derived terms

• sabre cuafí
• sabre de sant Simó
• sabrista

Further reading

• “sabre” in Diccionari de la llengua catalana, segona edició, Institut d’Estudis Catalans.
• “sabre”, in Gran Diccionari de la Llengua Catalana, Grup Enciclopèdia Catalana, 2024
• “sabre” in Diccionari normatiu valencià, Acadèmia Valenciana de la Llengua.
• “sabre” in Diccionari català-valencià-balear, Antoni Maria Alcover and Francesc de Borja Moll, 1962.

French

Etymology

From German Säbel.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /sabʁ/

• Audio:

  (file)

Noun

sabre m (plural sabres)

1. a single-edged sword
2. the force, arms
3. cutlassfish

Derived terms

• avaleur de sabre
• sabre au clair
• sabre laser
• tigre à dents de sabre

Descendants

• → English: sabre

Further reading

• “sabre”, in Trésor de la langue française informatisé [Digitized Treasury of the French Language], 2012.

Anagrams

• baser, brase, brasé

Italian

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈsa.bre/
• Rhymes: -abre
• Hyphenation: sà‧bre

Noun

sabre m or f by sense (invariable)

1. Alternative form of sabra

Adjective

sabre (invariable)

1. Alternative form of sabra

Anagrams

• serba

Leonese

Etymology

(This etymology is missing or incomplete. Please add to it, or discuss it at the Etymology scriptorium.)

Noun

sabre m (plural sabres)

1. sand

References

• AEDLL

Portuguese

Etymology

Borrowed from French sabre, from German Säbel, from Hungarian szablya.

Pronunciation

 

• (Brazil) IPA^(key): /ˈsa.bɾi/

• (Brazil) IPA^(key): /ˈsa.bɾi/
  • (Southern Brazil) IPA^(key): /ˈsa.bɾe/

• (Portugal) IPA^(key): /ˈsa.bɾɨ/ [ˈsa.βɾɨ]

• Rhymes: (Brazil) -abɾi, (Portugal) -abɾɨ
• Hyphenation: sa‧bre

Noun

sabre m (plural sabres)

1. sabre (military weapon)
2. sabre (fencing weapon)

Related terms

• espada, esgrima, florete

Further reading

• “sabre” in Dicionário Aberto based on Novo Diccionário da Língua Portuguesa de Cândido de Figueiredo, 1913
• “sabre”, in Michaelis Dicionário Brasileiro da Língua Portuguesa (in Portuguese), São Paulo: Editora Melhoramentos, 2015–2024
• “sabre”, in Dicionário Priberam da Língua Portuguesa (in Portuguese), Lisbon: Priberam, 2008–2024