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Today it means

katana

a traditional Japanese sword with a curved single-edged blade

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Where does the word "katana" come from? It comes from Japanese katana, and was adopted directly into English (1900s).

Read the full story

Where does the word "katana" come from? It comes from Japanese katana, and was adopted directly into English (1900s).

Katana’s story begins in Japanese: katana meant “a curved single-edged sword.” The single-edged curved sword carried by samurai warriors. It reached English by 1900s as katana. The curved single-edged sword carried by samurai from the 1400s. Today, katana means a traditional Japanese sword with a curved single-edged blade.

  1. Stage 1 · Japanese · medieval katana "a curved single-edged sword", the single-edged curved sword carried by samurai warriors.
  2. Stage 2 · English · 1900s katana "a traditional Japanese curved sword", the curved single-edged sword carried by samurai from the 1400s.

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