Dictionary

claybeg en · NOUN

Etymology

From Scottish Gaelic claidheamh beag (literally “small sword”). First attested in 1825 as Clay-beg.

Meanings

1. (historical) The Scottish broadsword used during the Early Modern period.
   • When Sir Walter Scott speaks, prior to 1715, of the inferiority of the claymore to the rapier, he refers not to the claybeg or Andrew Ferrara, now worn by the officers and sergeants of the Highland corps, and which has usurped the venerable name of the ancient Scottish weapon. 1835, letter to the editor of The United Service Magazine, page 109

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