porte-épée
English edit
Etymology edit
From French porte-épée.
Noun edit
- A strap, buckle or other fastening by which a sword or scabbard is held attached to a person's belt, clothing etc.
- Synonym: frog
- 1987, Alaric Faulkner, Gretchen Fearon Faulkner, The French at Pentagoet, page 251:
- An additional strap extends from the porte-épée and hooks onto the front of the belt with another clasp to stabilize the arrangement.
- 2002, Josepth Roth, translated by Michael Hofmann, The Radetsky March, Folio Society, published 2015, page 134:
- He held the porte-épée in his hand. The metalled silk seemed to trickle between his fingers, like cool golden rain.
French edit
Etymology edit
Literally, “sword carrier”.
Pronunciation edit
Noun edit
porte-épée m (plural porte-épées)
- (historical, military) porte-épée
- a swordtail (fish)
- 1999, Canadian Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences, volume 56, page 830:
- […] ont été exposés à des extraits de tissus de saumon quinnat ou de porte-épée (Xiphophorus helleri).
Descendants edit
- → English: porte-épée
- → German: Portepee
Further reading edit
- “porte-épée”, in Trésor de la langue française informatisé [Digitized Treasury of the French Language], 2012.