hal·berd  (h ăl b ərd, hôl -) also hal·bert (-b ərt)
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n. A weapon of the 1400s and 1500s having an axelike blade and a steel spike mounted on the end of a long shaft.
[French hallebarde, from Old French alabarde, from Old Italian alabarda, from Middle High German helmbarde, halmbarte : helm, handle + barte, axe (from Old High German barta; see bhardh-ā- in the Appendix of Indo-European roots).]
hal′ber·dier (-bər-dîr) n. |
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition copyright ©2019 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
Indo-European & Semitic Roots Appendices
Thousands of entries in the dictionary include etymologies that trace their origins back to reconstructed proto-languages. You can obtain more information about these forms in our online appendices:
Indo-European Roots
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