Dictionary

seax en · NOUN

Pronunciation

• /ˈsiːks/
• /ˈseɪ̯.æks/

Etymology

Learned borrowing from Old English seax (“dagger”). Doublet of sax and zax.

Meanings

1. (historical) A short Saxon sword.
   • The Pugio or Dagger was used by the Romans, a species of that weapon called the Hand Seax was worn by the Saxons, with which they massacred the English on Salisbury Plain in 476. 1786, Francis Grose, A Treatise on Ancient Armour and Weapons, page 34:
   • It consisted of the arms of the City of London, Middlesex (three seaxes, or Saxon swords), Buckingham (a swan), and Hertford (a hart), arranged quarterly, on a background of crimson and ermine mantling […]. 1950 June, Michael Robbins, “Heraldry of London Underground Railways”, in Railway Magazine, page 380:

Forms

Translations (5)

de Sax (short Saxon sword) · fi väkipuukko (short Saxon sword) · ru скрамасакс (short Saxon sword) · ru сакс (short Saxon sword) · de Sachs (short Saxon sword)