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A schoolgirl writing with her left hand. In human biology, handedness is an individual's preferential use of one hand, known as the dominant hand, due to it being stronger, faster or more dextrous. The other hand, comparatively often the weaker, less dextrous or simply less subjectively preferred, is called the non-dominant hand.
Hand-and-a-half sword, probably German, c. 1400–1430 [1] The English language terminology used in the classification of swords is imprecise and has varied widely over time. There is no historical dictionary for the universal names, classification, or terminology of swords; a sword was simply a single-edged or double-edged knife that grew ...
A longsword (also spelled as long sword or long-sword) is a type of European sword characterized as having a cruciform hilt with a grip for primarily two-handed use (around 15 to 30 cm or 6 to 12 in), a straight double-edged blade of around 80 to 110 cm (31 to 43 in), and weighing approximately 2 to 3 kg (4 lb 7 oz to 6 lb 10 oz).
This is a list of notable types of weapons which saw use in warfare, and more broadly in combat, prior to the advent of the early modern period, i.e., approximately prior to the start of the 16th century.
A two-handed sword is any sword that usually requires two hands to wield, or more specifically the very large swords of the 16th century. [104] Throughout history two-handed swords have generally been less common than their one-handed counterparts, one exception being their common use in Japan.
The term claymore is an anglicisation of the Gaelic claidheamh-mòr "big/great sword", attested in 1772 (as Cly-more) with the gloss "great two-handed sword". [3] The sense "basket-hilted sword" is contemporaneous, attested in 1773 as "the broad-sword now used ... called the Claymore, (i.e., the great sword)", [4] although OED observes that this usage is "inexact, but very common".
A halberd (also called halbard, halbert or Swiss voulge) is a two-handed polearm that came to prominent use from the 13th to 16th centuries. The halberd consists of an axe blade topped with a spike mounted on a long shaft.
A katana (刀, かたな, lit. 'one-sided blade') is a Japanese sabre characterized by a curved, single-edged blade with a circular or squared guard and long grip to accommodate two hands.