Etymology Map
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Claymore

2 stages from Scottish Gaelic to English.

Today it means a large Scottish broadsword

Where does the word "claymore" come from? It comes from Scottish Gaelic claidheamh mòr, adopted directly into English (1700s).

1
Stage 1 of 2
claidheamh mòr
Scottish Gaelic · 1500s
"great sword"
'great sword', the two-handed sword of Highland warriors, carved on the late medieval West Highland grave slabs of Argyll and Iona
2
Stage 2 of 2
claymore
English · 1700s
"Highland broadsword"
by the Jacobite rising of 1745-46 it usually meant the basket-hilted broadsword; the US Army's Claymore mine of the 1960s borrowed the name
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Read the full story

Claymore’s story begins in Scottish Gaelic: claidheamh mòr meant “great sword.” 'great sword', the two-handed sword of Highland warriors, carved on the late medieval West Highland grave slabs of Argyll and Iona. It reached English by 1700s as claymore. By the Jacobite rising of 1745-46 it usually meant the basket-hilted broadsword; the US Army's Claymore mine of the 1960s borrowed the name. Today, claymore means a large Scottish broadsword.