halberd

English

Alternative forms

• halbert, halbard

Etymology

(1495) Middle French hallebarde, from Italian alabarda, from Middle High German helmbarte (“broad-axe with handle”), from halm, from Proto-Germanic *helmô (“handle”) + barte (“hatchet”), from *bardaz (“broadax”), literally "beard."

an assortment of halberds

Pronunciation

• (US) IPA^(key): /ˈhæl.bɚd/, /ˈhɔl.bɚd/, /ˈhɑl.bɚd/

  • Audio (US)

    (file)

• (UK) IPA^(key): /ˈhælbəd/, /ˈhælbɜːd/

Noun

halberd (plural halberds)

1. A two-handed pole weapon, consisting of a long pole with an axe-like blade mounted on it (at a right angle like an axe, not on the tip like a spear), and (opposite the blade) typically a spike or hook.

Derived terms

• halberdier
• halberd fern (Tectaria spp.)
• halberd willow (Salix hastata)

Translations

hand weapon

• Bulgarian: алебарда (bg) f (alebarda)
• Catalan: alabarda f
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 戟 (zh) (jǐ), 斧槍／斧枪 (fǔqiāng)

• Czech: halapartna (cs) f
• Danish: hellebard c, atgejr c
• Dutch: hellebaard (nl)
• Estonian: hellebard, odakirves
• Finnish: hilpari (fi)
• French: hallebarde (fr) f
• Galician: alabarda (gl) f
• Georgian: ალებარდე (alebarde)
• German: Hellebarde (de) f
• Greek: αλαβάρδα (el) f (alavárda)

  Ancient: διβολία f (dibolía)

• Hungarian: alabárd (hu)
• Icelandic: atgeir m, bryntröll n
• Irish: halbard m
• Italian: alabarda (it) f
• Japanese: 斧槍 (ふそう, fusō), 槍斧 (そうふ, sōfu), 鉾槍 (ほこやり, hokoyari), ハルバード (harubādo)
• Kazakh: балта-найза (balta-naiza)
• Korean: 핼버드 (haelbeodeu), 핼버트 (haelbeoteu), 미늘창 (mineulchang), 도끼창 (dokkichang)
• Latin: hallebarda f, hellebarda f
• Lithuanian: alebarda f
• Macedonian: халеба́рда f (halebárda)
• Maltese: alabarda f
• Norwegian: hellebard m
• Ottoman Turkish: تبر (teber)
• Persian: ناچخ (fa) (nâčax)
• Polish: halabarda (pl) f
• Portuguese: alabarda (pt) f
• Romanian: halebardă (ro) f, alebardă (ro) f
• Russian: алеба́рда (ru) f (alebárda), бе́рдыш (ru) m (bérdyš)
• Scottish Gaelic: pic-catha f
• Serbo-Croatian:

  Cyrillic: хелебарда f

  Roman: helebarda (sh) f

• Spanish: alabarda (es) f
• Swedish: hillebard (sv) c
• Turkish: teber (tr)
• Ukrainian: алеба́рда (uk) f (alebárda), галяба́рда f (haljabárda)
• Venetian: labarda (vec) f

See also

• twibill
• Swiss voulge, voulge

References

• Oxford English Dictionary, 1884–1928, and First Supplement, 1933.
• “halberd”, in Dictionary.com Unabridged, Dictionary.com, LLC, 1995–present.
• “halberd”, in Collins English Dictionary.