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Originally Posted by Madnumforce
Hello there,
and the word machete itself quite likely comes from machaera/machaira, which it seems Romans had adopted to a point, at least the word, but so far I have no meaningfull archeological or literary proof that it was falchion/machete like (it could have been pretty much any edged weapon that could have been called that way to sound classy).
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Somewhere along the way, I was led to believe that the term
machaira was Greek and it referred to some sort of short sword, perhaps a version of the
kopis ? The term
falchion does seem to have come to us via the Latin
falx (sickle, pruning hook, also a hook-like implement for pulling down fortifications under siege), and
falcatus sickle-shaped or curved. The Romans applied the name
falcata to the broad yataghan-shaped short swords of the Celtiberians; in modern Portuguese, the word for "knife" is
faca. A version of the
falcata was also used in classical times by the inhabitants of Corsica (around 6th cent. BC), and its hilt has an extended hook-like pommel that with little imagination can be regarded as a possible inspiration for the modern
gancio. (see Coe, et al,
Swords and Hilt Weapons (1989), illus. p 22 for an example)