scabbard

Meanings

1. 1
   noun

   a protective sheath for the blade of a sword, dagger, or bayonet

   An old sword rested in its cracked leather scabbard.

2. 2
   verb

   to put a sword or another bladed object into its scabbard

   At the order to stand down, the officer scabbarded his sabre.

From Middle English scabard or scauberde, through Anglo-Norman forms such as eschaubert. The deeper source is Germanic and probably combines elements meaning 'blade' and 'protection,' so the original compound described a shelter for a blade.

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