porte-épée
English
Etymology
From French porte-épée.
Noun
porte-épée
- A strap, buckle or other fastening by which a sword or scabbard is held attached to a person's belt, clothing etc.
- Synonym: frog
- 1987, Alaric Faulkner, Gretchen Fearon Faulkner, The French at Pentagoet, p. 251:
- An additional strap extends from the porte-épée and hooks onto the front of the belt with another clasp to stabilize the arrangement.
- 2002, Michael Hofmann, translating Josepth Roth, The Radetsky March, Folio Society 2015, p. 134:
- He held the porte-épée in his hand. The metalled silk seemed to trickle between his fingers, like cool golden rain.
French
Etymology
Literally, “sword carrier”.
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /pɔʁ.te.pe/
Audio (file)
Noun
porte-épée m (plural porte-épées)
- (historical, military) porte-épée
- a swordtail (fish)
- 1999, Canadian Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences, volume 56, page 830:
- […] ont été exposés à des extraits de tissus de saumon quinnat ou de porte-épée (Xiphophorus helleri).
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Descendants
- → English: porte-épée
- → German: Portepee
Further reading
- “porte-épée”, in Trésor de la langue française informatisé [Digitized Treasury of the French Language], 2012.