point

en-noun

point (countable and uncountable, plural points)

→ Cantonese: point

→ Indonesian: poin

→ Japanese: ポイント (pointo)

→ Korean: 포인트 (pointeu)

→ Malay: poin

From Middle English poynt, from Old French point m (“dot; minute amount”), from Latin pūnctum (“a hole punched in; a point, puncture”), substantive use of pūnctus m, perfect passive participle of pungō (“I prick, punch”) (ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *pewǵ- (“prick, punch”)); alternatively, from Old French pointe f (“sharp tip”), from Latin pūncta f (past participle). Mostly displaced native Middle English ord (“point”), from Old English ord (“point”). Doublet of pointe, ponto, puncto, punctum, punt, and punto.

kärki

position at the front or vanguard of an advancing force

decimal point

not used when reading decimal fractions aloud

tierce point

(fencing) A movement executed with the sabre or foil.


absence

en-noun

absence (usually uncountable, plural absences)

existence

antonym(s) of “lack, deficiency, nonexistence”

From Middle English absence, from Old French absence, ausence, from Latin absentia, from absēns (“absent”), present active participle of absum (“I am away or absent”), from ab (“from, away from”) + sum (“I am”).

(fencing) Lack of contact between blades.


beat

→ Pennsylvania German: biede

From Middle English beten, from Old English bēatan (“to beat, pound, strike, lash, dash, thrust, hurt, injure”), from Proto-West Germanic *bautan, from Proto-Germanic *bautaną (“to push, strike”), from Proto-Indo-European *bʰewd- (“to hit, strike”).
Compare Old Irish fo·botha (“he threatened”), Latin confutō (“to strike down”), fūstis (“stick, club”), Albanian bahe (“sling”), Lithuanian baudžiù, Old Armenian բութ (butʻ)).

der

march to the beat of a different drummer

(fencing) A smart tap on the adversary's blade.


distance

en-noun

distance (countable and uncountable, plural distances)

distances (plural)
distaunce (alternative)

From Middle English distance, distaunce, destance (“disagreement, dispute; discrimination; armed conflict; hostility; trouble; space between two points; time interval”), from Anglo-Norman distance, distaunce, destance, Middle French distance, and Old French destance, destaunce, distaunce (“debate; difference, distinction; discord, quarrel; dispute; space between two points; time interval”) (modern French distance), and directly from their etymon Latin distantia (“difference, diversity; distance, remoteness; space between two points”) (whence also Late Latin distantia (“disagreement; discrepancy; gap, opening; time interval”)), from distāns (“being distant; standing apart”) + -ia (suffix forming feminine abstract nouns). Distāns is the present active participle of distō (“to be distant; to stand apart; to differ”), from dis- (prefix meaning ‘apart, asunder; in two’) + stō (“to stand”) (ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *steh₂- (“to stand (up)”)).
The verb is derived from the noun.
Cognates
* Middle Dutch distancie, distantie (modern Dutch distantie); Dutch afstand (“distance”, literally “off-stand, off-stance”)
* German Distanz; German Abstand
* Italian distanza
* Portuguese distância
* Spanish distancia

afstand

(countable, uncountable) amount of space between points

[William] Page. I haue heard the French-man hath good skill in his Rapier. / [Robert] Shal[low]. Tut ſir: I could haue told you more: In theſe times you ſtand on diſtance: your Paſſes, Stoccado's, and I knovv not vvhat: […]

c. 1597 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Merry Wiues of Windsor”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act II, scene i], page 45, column 1:

The amount of space between points (often geographical points), usually (but not necessarily) measured along a straight line.

(fencing) The amount of space between a fencer and their opponent, which the fencer tries to control in order to gain an advantage over the opponent.


cut

en-noun

cut (countable and uncountable, plural cuts)

From Middle English cutten, kitten, kytten, ketten (“to cut”) (compare Scots kut, kit (“to cut”)), of North Germanic origin, from Old Norse *kytja, *kutta, from Proto-Germanic *kutjaną, *kuttaną (“to cut”), of uncertain origin, perhaps related to Proto-Germanic *kwetwą (“meat, flesh”) (compare Old Norse kvett (“meat”)). Akin to Middle Swedish kotta (“to cut or carve with a knife”) (compare dialectal Swedish kåta, kuta (“to cut or chip with a knife”), Swedish kuta, kytti (“a knife”)), Norwegian Bokmål kutte (“to cut”), Norwegian Nynorsk kutte (“to cut”), Icelandic kuta (“to cut with a knife”), Old Norse kuti (“small knife”), Norwegian kyttel, kytel, kjutul (“pointed slip of wood used to strip bark”). Displaced native Middle English snithen (from Old English snīþan; compare German schneiden), which still survives in some dialects as snithe or snead. See snide. Adjective sense of "drunk" (now rare and now usually used in the originally jocular derivative form of half-cut) dates from the 17th century, from cut in the leg, to have cut your leg, euphemism for being very drunk.

leikkaus

notch, passage, or channel made by cutting or digging

en:any act of cutting, literally or figuratively

en:type of attack in fencing; instance thereof

(literal, figurative) The act of cutting.

(fencing) An attack made with a chopping motion of the blade, landing with its edge or point.

coupé

fencing: attack made with a chopping motion of the blade


button

→ German: Button

→ Hindi: बटन (baṭan)

→ Gujarati: બટન (baṭan)

→ Korean: 버튼 (beoteun)

→ Maori: pātene

→ Marathi: बटण (baṭaṇ)

→ Urdu: بَٹَن (baṭan)

From Middle English boton, botoun, from Old French boton (Modern French bouton), from Old French bouter, boter (“to push; thrust”), ultimately from a Germanic language. Doublet of Biden and beat. More at butt.

(fencing) The soft circular tip at the end of a foil.


thrust

en-noun

thrust (countable and uncountable, plural thrusts)

From Middle English þrusten, from Old Norse þrysta, from Proto-Germanic *þrustijaną, possibly from Proto-Indo-European *trewd-.

Pierre was a master swordsman, and could parry the thrusts of lesser men with barely a thought.

(fencing) An attack made by moving the sword parallel to its length and landing with the point.


box

box (plural boxes or (nonstandard, computing, humorous) boxen)

boxes (plural)
boxen (humorous nonstandard plural)

Tok Pisin: bokis

→ Afrikaans: boks

→ Bengali: বাক্স (bakśo)

→ Bulgarian: бокс (boks)

→ Crimean Tatar: boks

→ Danish: boks

→ Dutch: box m

→ Faroese: boks

→ French: box m

→ German: Box f

→ Hindustani:

Hindi: बकस m (bakas), बक्सा m (baksā)

Urdu: بکس m (baks, bakas)

→ Icelandic: box n

→ Indonesian: boks

→ Irish: bosca m

→ Italian: box m

→ Japanese: ボックス (bokkusu)

→ Korean: 박스 (bakseu)

→ Maori: pāka

→ Marwari: बकस (baks, bakas)

→ Nepali: बाकस (bākas)

→ Norman: bosc m

→ Norwegian: boks m

→ Pashto: بکس (baks)

→ Persian: باکس (bâks)

→ Polish: boks m

→ Portuguese: box m

→ Russian: бокс m (boks)

→ Scottish Gaelic: bogsa m, bocsa

→ Spanish: box m

→ Swedish: box c

→ Welsh: bocs

Etymology tree
Ancient Greek πῠ́ξος (pŭ́xos)
Ancient Greek -ις (-is)
Ancient Greek πυξίς (puxís)bor.
Late Latin buxisbor.
Proto-West Germanic *buhsā
Old English box
Middle English box
English box
From Middle English box (“container, box, cup”), from Old English box (“box, case”), from Proto-West Germanic *buhsā (“box”) from Late Latin buxis (“box”), Latin pyxis (“small box for medicines or toiletries”), of uncertain origin; compare Ancient Greek πύξος (púxos, “box or tablet made of boxwood; box; cylinder”) and Ancient Greek πυξίς (puxís, “box or tablet made of boxwood; box; cylinder”). Doublet of piseog, pyx, and pyxis.
Cognate with Middle Dutch bosse, busse (“jar; tin; round box”) (modern Dutch bos (“wood, forest”), bus (“container, box; bushing of a wheel”)), Old High German buhsa (Middle High German buhse, bühse, modern German Büchse (“box; can”)), Swedish bössa (“box”).
The humorous plural form boxen is from box + -en, by analogy with oxen.

кутия

compartment or receptacle for receiving items

ramme

rectangular border around an image, text, etc.

квадратче

small area on a document for a tick mark

tofu

empty box displayed by some computer systems in place of a character not supported by available fonts

In electric fencing, foil and saber fencers wear lames, which are thin outer jackets that cover their target areas. Lames are made from fabric that conducts electricity. When a fencer touches an opponent's lame with his or her blade, an electronic signal is sent to the scoring box. A colored light goes on to signal a touch. […] In épée, the whole body is the target, so épée fencers do not need to wear lames. A signal is sent to the scoring box from the épée any time a touch is made.

2009, Suzanne Slade, “Electric Fencing: Get Hooked Up”, in Fencing for Fun!, Mankato, Minn.: Compass Point Books, →ISBN, pages 30–31:

Senses relating to a three-dimensional object or space.

(fencing) A device used in electric fencing to detect whether a weapon has struck an opponent, which connects to a fencer's weapon by a spool and body wire. It uses lights and sound to notify a hit, with different coloured lights for on target and off target hits.


electric

electrics (plural)
electrick (alternative archaic)

De Magnete
Thomas Browne
William Gilbert (physician)

First appears c. 1646 in a publication by Thomas Browne, from New Latin ēlectricus (“electrical; of amber”), from ēlectrum (“amber”) + -icus (“adjectival suffix”), from Ancient Greek ἤλεκτρον (ḗlektron, “amber”), related to ἠλέκτωρ (ēléktōr, “shining sun”), of unknown origin; see there for further information. The Latin term was apparently used first with the sense “electrical” in 1600 by the English physician and scientist William Gilbert in his work De Magnete.

der

(fencing) Fencing with the use of a body wire, box, and related equipment to detect when a weapon has touched an opponent.


stop

From Middle English stoppen, stoppien, from Old English stoppian (“to stop, close”), from Proto-West Germanic *stoppōn, from Proto-Germanic *stuppōną (“to stop, close”), *stuppijaną (“to push, pierce, prick”), from Proto-Indo-European *(s)tewp-, *(s)tewb- (“to push; stick”), from *(s)tew- (“to bump; impact; butt; push; beat; strike; hit”).
Cognate with Saterland Frisian stopje (“to stop, block”), West Frisian stopje (“to stop”), Dutch stoppen (“to stop”), Low German stoppen (“to stop”), German stopfen (“to be filling, stuff”), German stoppen (“to stop”), Danish stoppe (“to stop”), Swedish stoppa (“to stop”), Icelandic stoppa (“to stop”), Middle High German stupfen, stüpfen (“to pierce”). More at stuff, stump.
Alternative etymology derives Proto-West Germanic *stoppōn from an assumed Vulgar Latin *stūpāre, *stuppāre (“to stop up with tow”), from stūpa, stīpa, stuppa (“tow, flax, oakum”), from Ancient Greek στύπη (stúpē), στύππη (stúppē, “tow, flax, oakum”). This derivation, however, is doubtful, as the earliest instances of the Germanic verb do not carry the meaning of "stuff, stop with tow". Rather, these senses developed later in response to influence from similar sounding words in Latin and Romance.

cog

(fencing) A coup d'arret, or stop thrust.


pass

en-verb

pass (third-person singular simple present passes, present participle passing, simple past and past participle passed)

passes (present singular third-person)
passing (participle present)
passed (participle past)
passed (past)
passe (alternative obsolete)

From Middle English passen, from Old French passer (“to step, walk, pass”), from Vulgar Latin *passāre (“step, walk, pass”), derived from Latin passus (“a step”), from Proto-Italic *pat-s-tus, from Proto-Indo-European *peth₂- (“to spread, stretch out”). Cognate with Old English fæþm (“armful, fathom”). More at fathom.
Displaced native Old English genġan.

مَرَّ

medicine: to eliminate (something) from the body by natural processes; to go through the intestines

اِجْتَازَ

to go through any inspection or test successfully

(sports) To make various kinds of movement.

(intransitive, fencing) To make a lunge or swipe.

To change place.
To make various kinds of movement.
To make a lunge or swipe.


pass

→ Tibetan: སྤ་སེ (spa se)

From Middle English pas, pase, pace, from passen (“to pass”).

(fencing) A thrust or push; an attempt to stab or strike an adversary.


line

→ Scottish Gaelic: loidhne

From Middle English line, lyne, from Old English līne (“line, cable, rope, hawser, series, row, rule, direction”), from Proto-West Germanic *līnā, from Proto-Germanic *līnǭ (“line, rope, flaxen cord, thread”), from Proto-Germanic *līną (“flax, linen”), from Proto-Indo-European *līno- (“flax”).
Influenced in Middle English by Middle French ligne (“line”), from Latin linea. More at linen.
The oldest sense of the word is “rope, cord, thread”; from this the senses “path”, “continuous mark” were derived.

lyn

path through two or more points, threadlike mark

lyn

single horizontal row of text on a screen, printed paper, etc.

linja

measure of length, the main division of an inch or its local equivalent

Thus, for example, in the line of Quarte, the direct thrust is parried by dropping the point under the adversary's blade and circling upwards, throwing off the attack in the opposite line (that of Tierce), and upon the direct thrust in the line of Tierce, by a similar action throwing off the attack in the opposite line (that of Quarte).

1861, George Chapman, Foil Practice, with a Review of the Art of Fencing, page 12:

(fencing) The position in which the fencers hold their swords.

mstari

fencing: position in which the fencers hold their swords


seconde

(fencing) The second defensive position, with the sword hand held at waist height, with the hand held in a prone position and the tip of the sword below the level of the guard.


appel

Borrowed from French appel. Doublet of appeal.

(fencing) An act of striking the ground with the leading foot to frighten, distract, or mislead one's opponent.


steam

en-noun

steam (usually uncountable, plural steams)

From Middle English steem, stem, from Old English stēam (“steam, hot exhalation, hot breath; that which emits vapour; blood”), from Proto-Germanic *staumaz (“steam, vapour, breath”), from Proto-Indo-European *dʰewh₂- (“to whirl, waft, stink, shake; steam, haze, smoke”). Cognate with Scots stem, steam (“steam”), West Frisian steam (“steam, vapour”), Dutch stoom (“steam, vapour”), Low German stom (“steam”), Swedish dialectal stimma (“steam, fog”), Latin fūmus (“smoke, steam”).

der

(fencing) Fencing without the use of any electric equipment.


volt

(archaic, fencing) A sudden movement to avoid a thrust; a parry.


foible

1640–50, from Early Modern French foible (“feeble”) (contemporary French faible). Doublet of feeble.

(fencing) Part of a sword between the middle and the point, weaker than the forte.


flèche

Borrowed from French flèche. Compare fletch.

(fencing) A method of attack with a sword (foil or épée) in which the attacker's back leg crosses in front of the front leg in the offensive move.


flèche

en-verb

flèche (third-person singular simple present flèches, present participle flèching, simple past and past participle flèched)

flèches (present singular third-person)
flèching (participle present)
flèched (participle past)
flèched (past)

(fencing) To attack using the flèche method.


pool

pools (plural)
poole (alternative obsolete)

1. From French poule (“collective stakes in a game”). The French word "poule" in this context is an abbreviation of "poulain, pouliche" (foal, filly), and referred to races with female horses under 3 years old. It then became used by punters to designate bets on that race, and started to be used from the racetrack to the stadiums.
2. The OED suggests that this may be a transferred use of poule (“hen”), which has been explained anecdotally as deriving from an old informal betting game in France - 'jeu de poule' - Game of Chicken (or Hen, literally) in which poule became synonymous with the combined money pot claimed by the winner.

bor

pull (accents with FOOT-GOOSE merger or full-fool merger)

(fencing) A group of fencers taking part in a competition.


wrench

en-verb

wrench (third-person singular simple present wrenches, present participle wrenching, simple past and past participle wrenched)

wrenches (present singular third-person)
wrenching (participle present)
wrenched (participle past)
wrenched (past)
wrenche (alternative obsolete)
wrinche (alternative obsolete)
wringe (alternative obsolete)

From Middle English wrenchen, from Old English wrenċan, from Proto-West Germanic *wrankijan, from Proto-Germanic *wrankijaną. Compare German renken.

(intransitive, fencing, obsolete) To disarm an opponent by whirling their blade away.


sabre

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.

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


conversation

en-noun

conversation (countable and uncountable, plural conversations)

[ˌkʰɒɱ.vəˈseɪ.ʃn̩]

[ˌkʰɑɱ.vɚˈseɪ.ʃn̩]

From Middle English conversacioun, from Old French conversacion and its etymon, Latin conversātiōnem, accusative singular of conversātiō (“conversation”), from conversor (“abide, keep company with”). Doublet of conversazione.
Morphologically converse + -ation.

(fencing) The back-and-forth play of the blades in a bout.


insistence

insistence (countable and uncountable, plural insistences)

From Middle English insistence, derived from Old French insister (“to insist”). Compare Middle French insistance.
Morphologically insist + -ence.

(fencing) The forcing of an attack through the parry, using strength.


bout

From Middle English bout, bowt, bught (whence also modern English bought (“bend, curve”)), probably from Old English *buht (“bend, turn”), an unrecorded variant of Old English byht (“a bend, curve”), from Proto-West Germanic *buhti, from Proto-Germanic *buhtiz (“a bend”). Equivalent to bow + -t. Doublet of bight and bought.
For the sense development compare bender.

(fencing) An assault (a fencing encounter) at which the score is kept.


carte

carte (countable and uncountable, plural cartes)


piste

(fencing) The field of play of a fencing match.

planš

(fencing) the field of play of a fencing match


punto

From Latin punctum (“point”) via Italian and Spanish punto, from pungō (“to prick, to puncture”). Doublet of point, pointe, ponto, puncto, punctum, and punt.

doublet

To see thee fight, to see thee foin, to see thee traverse, to see thee here, to see thee there, to see thee pass thy puncto, thy stock, thy reverse, thy distance, thy montant.

c. 1597 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Merry Wiues of Windsor”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act III, scene ii]:


quart

From Middle English quart, quarte, from Old French quarte, carte, from Latin quartus (“one-fourth”). Cognate with Spanish cuarto (“quarter; room, quarters”).

cog

[W]e behold two men with lion-look, with alert attitude, side foremost, right foot advanced; flourishing and thrusting, stoccado and passado, in tierce and quart; intent to skewer one another.

1837, Thomas Carlyle, The French Revolution: A History […], volume (please specify |volume=I to III), London: Chapman and Hall, →OCLC, (please specify the book or page number):

(fencing) The fourth defensive position; quarte.


provost

From Middle English, from late Old English prōfost, prāfost, from Late Latin prōpositus, variant of Latin praepositus (“[one] placed in command”). In some senses, via Anglo-Norman provolt; via Anglo-Norman and Old French provost (modern French prévôt). As a Central European ecclesiastical office, via German Propst, Danish provst, etc.

steward

deputy overseeing medieval estates or fees

police officer

deputy overseeing medieval law enforcement; military police

A senior deputy, a superintendent, particularly:

(fencing, historical) An assistant fencing master.

A senior deputy, a superintendent
An assistant fencing master.


ward

en-noun

ward (countable and uncountable, plural wards)

→ Swahili: wodi

From Middle English ward, warde, from Old English weard (“watching, ward, protection, guardianship; advance post; waiting for, lurking, ambuscade”), from Proto-West Germanic *wardu, from Proto-Germanic *wardō (“protection, attention, keeping”), an extension of the stem *wara- (“attentive”) (English wary, beware), from Proto-Indo-European *wer- (“to cover”).
Cognate with German Warte (“watchtower”), warten (“wait for”); English guard is a parallel form which came via Old French.

inh

Thou knowest my old ward; here I lay, and thus I bore my point.

c. 1597 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The First Part of Henry the Fourth, […]”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act II, scene iv]:

(fencing) A guarding or defensive motion or position.


quarte

en-noun

quarte (countable and uncountable, plural quartes)

(fencing) The fourth defensive position, with the sword hand held at chest height, and the tip of the sword at neck height, the palm of the hand facing upwards.


quinte

(fencing) The fifth defensive position, with the sword hand held at waist height, and the tip of the sword at knee height.


foil

foil (countable and uncountable, plural foils)

From Middle English foyle, from Middle French fueille, from Old French fueille (“plant leaf”), from Late Latin folia, the plural of folium, mistaken as a singular feminine.
The literary sense is from the practice of backing a gem with metal foil to make it shine more brilliantly.
Doublet of folio and folium, distantly also with phyllo and phyllon.

Blunt as the fencer's foils, which hit, but hurt not.

1598–1599 (first performance), William Shakespeare, “Much Adoe about Nothing”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act V, scene ii]:

1784-1810, William Mitford, History of Greece
Socrates contended with a foil against Demosthenes with a sword.

(fencing) A very thin sword with a blunted (or foiled) tip


epee

epees (plural)
épee (alternative)
épée (alternative)

Borrowed from French épée, from Latin spatha, from Ancient Greek σπάθη (spáthē). Doublet of spatha, spathe, and spade.

(fencing) A sharp-pointed dueling sword with a bell-shaped guard, used (with the end blunted) in sport fencing.


tierce

From Old French tierce, from Latin tertia.

(fencing) The third defensive position, with the sword hand held at waist height, and the tip of the sword at head height.


octave

From Latin octavus (“eighth”). Doublet of octavo, ochava, and oitava.

Octave in the Encyclopædia Britannica (11th edition, 1911)

If they always do a lateral parry quarte, and never a semicircular octave, that gives you an opening.

2009, Ray Finkleman, (Please provide the book title or journal name):

(fencing) The eighth defensive position, with the sword hand held at waist height, and the tip of the sword out straight at knee level.


presentation

presentation (countable and uncountable, plural presentations)

presentations (plural)
præsentation (alternative)

/ˌpɹɛzənˈteɪʃən/

From Old French presentation (French présentation), from Latin praesentātiōnem, accusative singular of praesentātiō (“representation, exhibition”).
Morphologically present + -ation

(fencing) Offering one's blade for engagement by the opponent.


prime

composite

prime element of a mathematical structure

From Middle English prime, from Old French prime and its etymon, Latin prīmus (“first”), from earlier prīsmos < *prīsemos < Proto-Italic *priisemos, ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *per- (“beyond, before”). Doublet of primo and primus.
The noun sense "apostrophe-like symbol" originates from the fact that the symbol ′ was originally a superscript Roman numeral one.

der

(fencing) The first defensive position, with the sword hand held at head height, and the tip of the sword at head height.


return

en-verb

return (third-person singular simple present returns, present participle returning, simple past and past participle returned)

returns (present singular third-person)
returning (participle present)
returned (participle past)
returned (past)
returne (alternative obsolete)
retvrn (alternative Internet)

From Middle English returnen, retornen, from Anglo-Norman returner, from Old French retourner, retorner, from Medieval Latin retornare (“to turn back”), from re- + tornare (“to turn”). Compare beturn.

der

(fencing) To give a thrust or cut after parrying a sword-thrust.


assault

en-noun

assault (countable and uncountable, plural assaults)

From Middle English assaut, from Old French noun assaut, derived from the past participle of the verb assalir, from Late Latin assalīre, from Latin ad (“at, towards”) + salīre (“jump”). See also assail. Spelling Latinized around 1530 to add an l.

(fencing) A non-competitive combat between two fencers.


extension

extension (countable and uncountable, plural extensions)

From Middle English extensioun, from Old French estension, from Latin extensiō, extensiōnem.

(fencing) A simple offensive action, consisting of extending the weapon arm forward.

ojennus

fencing: a simple offensive action, consisting of extending the weapon arm forward


feint

The noun is borrowed from French feinte (“dummy, feint”), from feindre (“to fake, feign”), from Old French feindre, faindre, from Latin fingere, the present active infinitive of fingō (“to alter the truth to deceive, dissemble, feign, pretend; to fashion, form, shape”).
The verb is derived from the noun.
Cognates
* Italian finta
* Occitan fencha, fenha
* Old Spanish finta (modern Spanish finta (“dummy, feint”))

He had some advantage in the difference of our weapons; for his sword, as I recollect, was longer than mine, […] His obvious malignity of purpose never for a moment threw him off his guard, and he exhausted every feint and strategem proper to the science of defence; while, at the same time, he mediated the most desperate catastrophe to our rencounter.

1817 December 31 (indicated as 1818), [Walter Scott], chapter XII, in Rob Roy. […], volume II, Edinburgh: […] James Ballantyne and Co. for Archibald Constable and Co. […]; London: Longman, Hurst, Rees, Orme, and Brown, →OCLC, pages 251–252:

It is also possible to deliver a compound riposte by using an indirect feint. The attacking fencer would be open to a compound riposte following a successful parry by their opponent.

1999, Allan Skipp, “Key Techniques”, in Handbook of Foil Fencing, Armley, Leeds: Coachwise Business Solutions for British Fencing, published 2006, →ISBN, page 36:

(boxing, fencing) A blow, thrust, or other offensive movement resembling an attack on some part of the body, intended to distract from a real attack on another part.

klamný pohyb

(boxing, fencing) offensive movement resembling an attack on some part of the body, intended to distract from a real attack on another part


feint

en-verb

feint (third-person singular simple present feints, present participle feinting, simple past and past participle feinted)

feints (present singular third-person)
feinting (participle present)
feinted (participle past)
feinted (past)

Genevra scowled and said, "His word is wild, / But dastard treason feinteth such disorders: / Treason or witchcraft neither, undefiled, / A Christian court may cherish in its borders."

1882, T. Alderson Wilson, “Lanval”, in Perseus and Other Essays in Verse, London: Ranken and Co., […], →OCLC, page 74:

Even Penrod's walk was affected; he adopted a gait which was a kind of taunting swagger; and, when he passed other children on the street, he practised the habit of feinting a blow; then, as the victim dodged, he rasped out the triumphant horse laugh which he gradually mastered to horrible perfection.

1914, Booth Tarkington, “The Imitator”, in Penrod, Garden City, N.Y.: Doubleday, Page & Company, →OCLC, page 231:

I spurred on the Turani instead of pulling him in, and stood up in the saddle just as we came upon the two. By feinting a slash at one I made him throw up his saber to guard his head. Then, leaning down as the three ponies came together, I cut at the other's neck, getting home over his blade. His mount reared and shelled him out of the saddle like a pea out of a pod.

1924 October 10, Harold Lamb, “Forward”, in Arthur Sullivant Hoffman, editor, Adventure, volume XLIX, number I, New York, N.Y., London: The Ridgway Company, →OCLC, page 25, column 1:

To direct (a blow, thrust, or other offensive movement resembling an attack) on some part of the body, intended to distract from a real attack on another part.

tehdä harhautusliike

to direct (a blow, thrust, or other offensive movement resembling an attack) on some part of the body, intended to distract from a real attack on another part

Feint him—use your legs! draw him about! he'll lose his wind then in no time, and you can go into him.

1857, [Thomas Hughes], “The Fight”, in Tom Brown’s School Days. […], Cambridge, Cambridgeshire: Macmillan & Co., →OCLC, part II, page 323:

(rare) To direct a feint or mock attack against (someone).

tehdä valehyökkäys

to direct a feint or mock attack against (someone or something)

Ben-Hur feinted with his right hand. The stranger warded, slightly advancing his left arm. Ere he could return to guard, Ben-Hur caught him by the wrist in a grip which years at the oar had made terrible as a vise.

1880 November 12, Lew[is] Wallace, chapter XVI, in Ben-Hur: A Tale of the Christ, New York, N.Y.: Harper & Brothers, […], →OCLC, book fifth, page 387:

My assailant stood a little; in the thick darkness I could see him bob and sidle as though he were feinting at me for an advantageous onfall.

1893–1897 (date written), Robert Louis Stevenson, “Swanston Cottage”, in St. Ives: Being the Adventures of a French Prisoner in England, New York, N.Y.: Charles Scribner’s Sons, published 1897, →OCLC, page 67:

Gomez feinted with his knife and the other man darted backward. He feinted again and the man moved to the side. The man feinted but Gomez didn't budge; he was anxious to get it on.

1984, Len Levinson, chapter 3, in Meat Grinder Hill (The Rat Bastards; 4), [San Francisco, Calif.]: AudioGO, published 2013, →ISBN:

(intransitive, boxing, fencing, also often military) To make a feint or mock attack.


feint

Borrowed from French feint, the past participle of feindre (“to fake, feign”): see etymology 1.

(boxing, fencing, also often military) Of an attack or offensive movement: directed toward a different part from the intended strike.

harhautus-

of an attack or offensive movement: directed toward a different part from the intended strike


invitation

en-noun

invitation (countable and uncountable, plural invitations)

From Middle English invitacioun, ynvytacioun, from Latin invītātio, reinforced by Middle French invitation. Displaced native Middle English lathinge from Old English laþung (see dialectal English lathing).

(fencing) A line that is intentionally left open to encourage the opponent to attack.


waster

LL-Q1860 (eng)-I learned some phrases-waster.wav

Or, as they that play at wasters exercise themselves by a few cudgels how to avoid an enemy's blows, let us arm ourselves against all such violent incursions which may invade our minds.

1624, Democritus Junior [pseudonym; Robert Burton], The Anatomy of Melancholy: […], 2nd edition, Oxford, Oxfordshire: […] John Lichfield and James Short, for Henry Cripps, →OCLC, partition II, section 3, member 6:

(obsolete, chiefly fencing) A kind of cudgel; also, a blunt-edged sword used as a foil.


debole

From Italian debole, meaning "weak", equivalent to the French foible.

There are two parts to the sword: the forte and the debole. The forte begins from the hilt, extending as far as the middle of the blade; and the remainder is called the debole. The forte is for parrying, and the debole for striking. This is really important because: if you always keep your forte in the way of the opponent's debole, you will never be hit.

(fencing) The flexible part of the blade near the tip of light swords such as rapiers.


strip

strip (countable and uncountable, plural strips)

Brill Publishers
en:strip (disambiguation)

From alteration of stripe or from Middle Low German strippe, of uncertain ultimate origin, perhaps derived from a lost strong verb Proto-Germanic *strīpaną, with no clear cognates outside of Germanic except for Irish sríab (“line, stripe”).

(fencing) The playing area, roughly 14 meters by 2 meters.


passé

From French passé (“passed”, past participle of passer (“to pass”)).

bor

(fencing) An attack that passes the target without hitting.


malparry

(fencing) A parry that insufficiently removes the incoming blade from the target area.


touché

Borrowed from French touché, past participle of toucher (“to touch”). More at touch.


glide

From Middle English gliden, from Old English glīdan, from Proto-West Germanic *glīdan, from Proto-Germanic *glīdaną, from Proto-Indo-European *ǵʰleydʰ-.
Cognate with West Frisian glide, glydzje, Low German glieden, Dutch glijden, German gleiten, Norwegian Nynorsk gli, Danish glide, Swedish glida, Finnish liitää.

(fencing) An attack or preparatory movement made by sliding down the opponent’s blade, keeping it in constant contact.


engagement

en-noun

engagement (countable and uncountable, plural engagements)

After engagement it quickly became clear which of the fencers was going to prevail.

(fencing, countable) The point at which the fencers are close enough to join blades, or to make an effective attack during an encounter.


barrage

Unadapted borrowing from French barrage (“barrage, barrier”) c. 1859. Compare barrier.

ubor

(fencing) A "next hit wins" contest to determine the winner of a bout in case of a tie.


displacement

From French déplacement. Morphologically displace + -ment.

водоизместимост

the quantity of anything, as water, displaced by a floating body, as by a ship

there is no replacement for displacement

(fencing) Moving the target to avoid an attack; dodging.


flick

→ Afrikaans: fliek

From Middle English flykke (“light blow or stroke”). Later uses apparently interpreted as a back-formation from flicker.
The use of flick to mean a film or movie derives from the fact that early films had a low frame rate, thus causing the film to "flick" rapidly when projected onto a screen.

inh

(fencing) A cut that lands with the point, often involving a whip of the foible of the blade to strike at a concealed target.

flikki

a cut that lands with the point (fencing)


parry

From earlier parree, from Middle English *parree, *paree, from Old French paree (“preparation, ceremony, parade”), from Medieval Latin parāta (“preparation, parade”), from parāre (“to ward off, guard, defend, prepare, get ready”). More at pare. The English verb is taken from the noun. Doublet of parade.
Alternative etymology derives the verb parry from French parez, the imperative form of parer (“to fend off”), ultimately from the Medieval Latin parāre. See above.

der

(fencing) A simple defensive action designed to deflect an attack, performed with the forte of the blade.

пари́рање

in fencing, simple defensive action designed to deflect


martingale

martingales (plural)
martingal (alternative)

From Middle French martingale, from Occitan martegalo, feminine form of martegal, an inhabitant of Martigues, which is from Latin maritima. Alternatively from Spanish almártaga.
The meaning in gambling may come from an old usage of "à la martingale" to mean absurdly, foolishly.https://people.math.harvard.edu/~ctm/home/text/class/sem/html/home/notes/martingales/martingales.pdf

(fencing) A strap attached to the sword handle, preventing a sword being dropped if disarmed.


septime

(fencing) The seventh defensive position, with the sword hand held at waist height, and the tip of the sword at knee level.


cadence

en-noun

cadence (countable and uncountable, plural cadences)

Borrowed from Middle French cadence, from Old Italian cadenza (“conclusion of a phrase of music”), from Latin *cadentia (literally “a falling”), form of cadēns, the present participle of cadō (“I fall, I cease”). The Latin verb is inherited, via Proto-Italic *kadō, from Proto-Indo-European *ḱad-e- (“to fall”, thematic present). Doublet of cadenza and chance.

závěr

(music) chord progression concluding a section or piece

(fencing) The rhythm and sequence of a series of actions.

rytmi

(fencing) series of actions’ rhythm and sequence


riposte

From French riposte, taken from Italian risposta, a derivative of the verb rispondere (“to respond”).

(fencing) A thrust given in return after parrying an attack.


riposte

en-verb

riposte (third-person singular simple present ripostes, present participle riposting, simple past and past participle riposted)

ripostes (present singular third-person)
riposting (participle present)
riposted (participle past)
riposted (past)
ripost (alternative)

(fencing) To attempt to hit an opponent after parrying an attack.

ripostera

fencing: to attempt to hit an opponent after parrying an attack


ripost

(fencing) A thrust given in return after parrying a lunge.


manchette

(fencing) A special glove cover worn by fencers, specifically sabreurs, on their weapon hand.


sabreur

(fencing) A fencer who fights with a sabre.


lamé

en-noun

lamé (countable and uncountable, plural lamés)

(fencing, countable) The electrically conductive jacket worn by foil and sabre fencers.


black card

(sports) A penalty card issued by an official in several sports for infractions.

(fencing) The most severe of penalties, which results in the fencer being expelled from the match.


attack au fer

(fencing) An attack on the opponent's blade, e.g. beat, expulsion, pressure


liement

(fencing) An action in which one fencer forces the opponent's blade into the diagonally opposite line, (that is, from high line to low line on the opposite side, or vice versa) by taking it with the guard and forte of his own blade.


coulé

(fencing) An attacking or feinting movement where the blade slides continuously along the opponent’s blade.


counter-parry

(fencing) A parry that is done to defend against an opponent's parry and riposte.

(fencing) (often: contra-) A circular parry; one that moves in a circle to end up in the opposite position from which it started.


counter-time

(fencing) An attack that responds to the opponent's counter-attack.


coup d'arret

(fencing) A counter-attack that attempts to take advantage of an uncertain attack


croisé

Borrowed from French croisé. Doublet of cruciate.

(fencing) An action in which one fencer forces the opponent’s blade into the high or low line on the same side, by taking it with the guard and forte of his own blade


derobement

derobements (plural)
dérobement (alternative)

(fencing) An avoidance of the opponent's attempt to take the blade or beat, performed with a straight sword arm.


disengage

/ˌdɪsɪŋˈɡeɪd͡ʒ/

From Middle French désengager ; dis- + engage.

(fencing) A circular movement of the blade that avoids the opponent's parry


envelopment

envelopment (countable and uncountable, plural envelopments)

(fencing) An action to seize the opponent's blade in one line and lead it (without losing contact) through a full circle to end in the same line.


false attack

(fencing) An attack that is intended to miss or fall short, so as to produce a reaction from the opponent. Also called a false action.


moulinet

moulinets (plural)
mouline (alternative)

French moulinet, diminutive of moulin (“a mill”).

(fencing, chiefly sabre) A circular cut, often composed of a parry, usually prime or seconde, moving thence into a circular cut.


ballestra

(fencing) A very rapid attack made by a jump forward and lunge.


beat parry

(fencing) The deflection of the incoming attack with a sharp striking motion


opposition parry

opposition parry (plural opposition parries)

(fencing) The deflection of the incoming attack without ever losing contact with the blade from the initial engagement.


yielding parry

yielding parry (plural yielding parries)

(fencing) deflecting the incoming attack by maintaining contact with the blade and changing the point of contact between the blades, moving from a position of poor leverage to one using the forte for strong leverage


point-in-line

(fencing) An established threat made with the extended arm.


prise de fer

From French, literally "taking the steel".

(fencing) An engagement of the blades that attempts to control the opponent's weapon.


pronation

pronation (countable and uncountable, plural pronations)

From French pronation, from Latin pronatio.

(fencing) The position of the sword hand when the palm is facing down

pronaatio

fencing: position of sword hand with palm facing down


supination

supination (countable and uncountable, plural supinations)

(fencing) The position of the sword hand when the palm is facing up.

supinaatio

fencing: position of the sword hand with palm is facing up


remise

(fencing) A renewal of a failed action, without withdrawing the arm.


reprise

From Middle English reprise (noun) and reprisen (verb), from Old French reprise, from reprendre. In some senses borrowed anew from Modern French reprise.

(fencing) A renewal of a failed attack, after going back into the en garde position.


trompement

(fencing) The action of hitting an opponent at the end of a feint, after a successful deception.


French grip

(fencing) A grip used for foil and épée that consists of a slightly curved block of wood or aluminum wrapped in a rubber or leather grip-tape.


Italian grip

(fencing) A grip used for foil and épée that consists of a straight block of wood or aluminum wrapped in a rubber or leather grip-tape, with projecting prongs to aid grip.


avertissement

(fencing) A warning; used to indicate a minor rule infraction by one of the fencers


body cord

(fencing) The insulated wire that runs under a fencer's jacket, connecting the Electrical Competition weapon to the reel, and thence to the scoring machine.


corps-a-corps

Unadapted borrowing from French corps-à-corps (literally “body to body”). Compare corps, corpse, corpus.

ubor

(fencing) The action of two fencers coming into physical contact with one another with any portion of their bodies or hilts.


salut des armes

(fencing) A sort of a choreographed demonstration of arms, consisting of sets of fencers saluting, attacking, parrying, drilling and performing set routines in chorus.


broken time

(fencing) A sudden change in the tempo of one fencer's actions, used to fool the opponent into responding at the wrong time.


plastron

LL-Q1860 (eng)-Flame, not lame-plastron.wav

Borrowed from French plastron, from Italian piastrone, augmentive of piastra (“breastplate”), from Latin emplastrum (“plaster”), from Ancient Greek ἔμπλαστρον (émplastron), from ἔμπλαστος (émplastos, “daubed, plastered”), from ἔμπλασσειν (émplassein, “to mould, form”).

(fencing) A half-jacket worn under the jacket for padding or for safety.


renewal

en-noun

renewal (countable and uncountable, plural renewals)

(fencing) An offensive action made immediately after a parried one.


changement

(fencing) A change in the tempo or rhythm of one's actions, to mislead the opponent.


montant

From Italian montante. Doublet of mountant.

HOST: To see thee fight, to see thee foin, to see thee traverse; to see thee pass thy punto, thy stock, thy reverse, thy distance, thy montant.

c. 1597 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Merry Wiues of Windsor”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act II, scene iii]:

(fencing, archaic) An upward cut with a blade


quint

A musical or piquet term, or a quintuplet

From Middle French quint, from Latin quīntus. Doublet of quintus.

(fencing) quinte; the fifth fencer in parrying or attacking position.


foilist

(fencing) A fencer who fights with a foil.


right of way

right of way (countable and uncountable, plural rights of way or right of ways)

rights of way (plural)
right of ways (plural)
right-of-way (alternative)
ROW (alternative)

In foil the important thing is to be sure you have the right of way. You gain right of way by starting the attack first or beating the blade last.

2002, Elaine Cheris, Fencing: Steps to Success, →ISBN, page 63:

(fencing, uncountable) The priority granted to the first person to properly execute an attack.


en garde

(fencing) Used to warn one's opponent to take a defensive position prior to a fight.


en garde

(fencing) Ellipsis of en garde position, the start position in fencing.


on guard

en-adj

on guard (comparative more on guard, superlative most on guard)

more on guard (comparative)
most on guard (superlative)
on-guard (alternative)

We fall on guard, and after all it is a friend who comes to meet us.

1881, Robert Louis Stevenson, Virginibus Puerisque:

(fencing) The starting position of a fencing bout; en garde.


sword hand

(fencing) The hand in which one's sword is normally held.


sixte

Borrowed from French sixte, from Middle French sixte, from Old French siste, sixte, modification of sexte (“sixth”) (a borrowing from Latin sextus) after sis (“six”).

(fencing) The sixth defensive position, with the sword hand held at chest height, and the tip of the sword at eye level.


circular parry

en-noun

circular parry (plural circular parries)

(fencing): a defensive move in fencing; a parry in which the blade moves in a circle to block an opponent's attack from the opposite side from which it started (sometimes called a contra- or counter-parry)


doublé

(fencing) A compound attack that deceives the opponent's attempted circular parry.


rassemblement

(fencing) The bringing together of both feet, with the body upright, in order to outreach an opponent.


high line

(fencing) The target area above the opponent's midriff.


low line

(fencing) The target area below the opponent's midriff.


glissade

(fencing) A fencing move that may disarm the opponent.


sword arm

(fencing) The arm in which one's sword is normally held.


compound attack

compound attack (plural compound attacks)

(fencing) An attack consisting of more than one feint.


épéeist

(fencing) A fencer who competes with an épée sword.


veny

Alteration of French venue. Doublet of venue.

It is not, as at Fence, where the number of venies [tr. touches] given, gets the victorie: So long as the enemie is on foot, a man is newly to begin.

1603, Michel de Montaigne, chapter 47, in John Florio, transl., The Essayes […], book I, London: […] Val[entine] Simmes for Edward Blount […], →OCLC:


allonge

Borrowed from French allonge (“a lengthening”). Doublet of lunge.


disengagement

disengagement (countable and uncountable, plural disengagements)

There was a quick flash, a disengagement, a feint, a lunge that was like a man's, and as her long left arm shot out like lightning, her foil bent nearly double.

1895, Francis Marion Crawford, chapter 23, in Taquisara:

(fencing) A circular movement of the blade that blocks an opponent's parry.


traverse

en-verb

traverse (third-person singular simple present traverses, present participle traversing, simple past and past participle traversed)

traverses (present singular third-person)
traversing (participle present)
traversed (participle past)
traversed (past)

From Middle English traversen, from Old French traverser, from Latin trans (“across”) + versus (“turned”), perfect passive participle of Latin vertere (“to turn”).

(intransitive, fencing) To use the motions of opposition or counteraction.


imbroccata

imbroccatas (plural)
imbrocata (alternative)

From Italian imbroccata, feminine past participle of imbroccare (“to hit a target”).


epeeist

(fencing) Somebody who fences with an epee.


mandritta

(fencing) A blow from the right side to the left.


puncto

From Latin punctum via Italian punto. Doublet of point, pointe, ponto, punctum, punt, and punto.


wristwork

[...] in actual fact the Gresley Pacifics are not difficult to fire; the accurate wristwork needed to shoot the coal into the back corners of the grate calls for knack rather than brute force.

1941 May, O. S. Nock, “The Locomotives of Sir Nigel Gresley: Part III—The "A1" Pacifics”, in Railway Magazine, pages 196–197:

(in particular, fencing) movement of the hand without movement of the arm


caveating

Caveating is so necessary a motion in fencing, that without it there could be scarcely any offensive part, or pursuit.

(fencing) Shifting the sword from one side of an adversary's sword to the other.


redoublement

en-noun

redoublement (countable and uncountable, plural redoublements)


tac-au-tac

From French riposter du tac au tac (“to parry”), where tac imitates the sound made by the steel.

bor

(fencing) The parry which is connected with a riposte.

(fencing) A rapid series of attacks and parries in which neither fencer gains a point.


counterriposte

(fencing) A thrust delivered in response to the opponent's riposte.


body wire

(fencing) The insulated wire that runs under a fencer's jacket, connecting the Electrical Competition weapon to the reel, and thence to the scoring machine.


sentiment du fer

Borrowed from French sentiment du fer (literally “feeling of the iron”).

(fencing) The ability to feel along the length of a fencing sword through holding only the weapon's grip, a quality of an experienced fencer.


assault at arms

en-noun

assault at arms (plural assaults at arms)

(fencing) A display of attack and defence in fencing.


time thrust

(fencing) A thrust made at the moment the opponent draws breath for his or her own thrust.


Zornhau

(fencing) A powerful, diagonally descending blow.


counterparry

(fencing) A parry that uses the energy of the opponent's incoming lunge.


counterparry

en-verb

counterparry (third-person singular simple present counterparries, present participle counterparrying, simple past and past participle counterparried)

counterparries (present singular third-person)
counterparrying (participle present)
counterparried (participle past)
counterparried (past)

(fencing) To parry using the energy of the opponent's incoming lunge.


line of engagement

en-noun

line of engagement (plural lines of engagement)

(fencing) Synonym of line (“the position in which the fencers hold their swords”).