Claymore

Claymore
Claymore replica
Type	Sword
Place of origin	Scotland
Service history
In service	ca. 1400–1700
Used by	Highland Scots
Specifications
Weight	≈2.2–2.8 kg (4.9–6.2 lb)
Length	≈120–140 cm (47–55 in)
Blade length	≈100–120 cm (39–47 in)
Blade type	Double-edged
Hilt type	Two-handed cruciform, with pommel

A claymore (/ˈkleɪmɔər/; from Scottish Gaelic claidheamh-mòr, "great sword") refers either to the Scottish variant of the late medieval two-handed sword or the Scottish variant of the basket-hilted sword. The former is characterised as having a cross hilt of forward-sloping quillons with quatrefoil terminations and was in use from the 15th to 17th centuries.

The word claymore was first used in reference to swords in the 18th century in Scotland and parts of England to refer to basket-hilted swords. This description was maybe not used during the 17th century, when basket hilted swords were the primary military swords across Europe, but these broad-bladed swords remained in service with Scottish regiments for some time longer. After the Acts of Union in 1707 when Scottish and English regiments were integrated together, the swords were seen as a mark of distinction by Scottish officers over the more slender sabres used by their English contemporaries: a symbol of physical strength and prowess, and a link to the historic Highland way of life. Such swords remained in service with Scottish regiments into the 19th century.

The term claymore is an anglicisation of the Gaelic claidheamh-mór "great sword", attested in 1772 (as Cly-more) with the gloss "great two-handed sword". The sense "basket-hilted sword" is contemporaneous, attested in 1773 as "The broad-sword now used [...] called the Claymore, (i.e., the great sword)."OED observes that the latter usage is "inexact, but very common". The 1911 Encyclopædia Britannica likewise judged that the term is "wrongly" applied to the basket-hilted sword.