Cutlass

The Latin word cultellus (in Italian, coltello) generally means “smaller knife” or “dagger.”  It is a common Latin root for several Italian and French words that, today, refer to small swords.  As well, it is the origin of the English word cutlery.

Cultellus became coutelas, a 16^th-century French word for a mid-length single-edged blade.  A coutelas then became a cutlass, a 17^th-century English abbreviated sword.  This tool (or weapon, depending upon its use) has a short and more or less curved single-edged blade.  The grip is generally of wood, but some specimens show a brass grip with spiral grooves, the fancier ones perhaps adorned with stones.  The length of the blade is usually about twenty-four inches.

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