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Katana
This is one of those words that's not going to have any synonyms, or much of an etymology, because it's actually a word from a foreign language, that has been used commonly enough in English, it's been adopted. Like Ninja.
ka·ta·na [kəˈtänə] n. a curved, single-edged sword that is the longer of a pair worn by the Japanese samurai
Synonyms: there are no direct synonyms of katana, but some related words are wakizashi, tanto, okatana, and nodachi
Etymology: 1610s, from Japanese.
See? Not much of an etymology, eh? Still, it's an awesome word, and history's greatest sword.
54 comments:
You search far and wide for your words! I'm lazy and take simple ones like 'kitten'!
Best wishes,
Anna
Anna's A-Z, the letter K
Katana! I like this word. It rolls of the tongue and sounds like a title that could be used for anything - like a music group, or a theatrical play.
I love blogs like this where I learn something. You're awesome.
Well this is handy. My son has one of these (a wooden one used for sparring) and when he goes to class I always say "Don't forget your sword...thingy." Now I know what to call it. You've saved the day again. :)
Anna's right. You do pick unique words.
Laurita - the wooden practice sword is called a bokken.
And Matt - I thought sure katana meant something, the way karate is a combination of kara and te, meaning "empty hand," but after a long search I discovered katana means "sword."
Some things are just meant to be simple, I guess.
New tome and YES very awesome.
Interesting...
What about the Jedi's flashy ziiiing - ziiiing luminous swordy type sword!??! Surely up there amongst the greatest?!? Ahem.
Take care
x
The first thing that popped into my head when I read katana was "Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle"
Writers never know when they might need the very word katana.
Thanks for visiting!
Anna
I knew that...unbelievable? No. I live in a house of comic book reading/ weapon obsessed guys.
Ahh, yes. My secondary weapon of choice in the event of a zombie apocalypse.
My grandfather, who lived in Japan, had one of these. He would swing it around like a madman when he was drunk.
I have one of my protagonists armed with a Katana. What a great weapon.
All badass heros carry a katana. :)
Sometimes, when I dream about my fantastic writing space that doesn't exist yet, I want there to be this sword in there, even though I know nothing about sword fighting or martial arts outside of what Jet Li and Jackie Chan have done on screen.
Like the English language, I also tried to adopt Ninja as one of my own. Yeah... it didn't end well.
Eh, it's okay. You know what they say: "What doesn't kill you makes you hideously disfigured."
About this time next year there's going to be a bunch of books released with katana in the title -
Katana of Doom (that's mine) - with a mention of you and your K-post on the acknowledgments page.
The word is so beautiful and it's so feminine too. Great post! I really think the A-Z posts this year are so imaginative, yours included.
And here I thought it was a motorcycle model. Actually, my husband has 2 of these, along with an assortment of Ninja throwing stars & something nasty that looks like bear claws, and I don't mean the danish. Great word, Matthew!
Any kind of sword is awesome!
Laura
A to Z of Immortals, Myths & Legends
There's something about swords that I like, the grace with which they can be used, and their history.
I think it all started with either Sho-gun (with my fave Japanese actor - Toshiro Mifune) or John Belushi's Samurai role on SNL.
Interesting post, Matt!
You're doing so well coming up with some good words.
Is that another new photo?
Open your eyes. C'mon. Open them! I can still see you!
It really is history's greatest sword
My youngest son is fascinated with these. He would do odd jobs so he could buy practice ones for he and his friends to play with.
Nope. I'm sorry. The correct definition is "The best cat who ever walked the face of the earth."
Katana was a blue-eyed Tonkinese Manx, who could hit a vein in one shot with the precision of a master swordsman, which she proved as soon as I brought her home. Therefore, she practically named herself.
;-)
I heard this word for the first time
this post was quite informative
Great post :)
You forgot to mention that the 31st commenter receives a katana for free purchased by Matthew MacNish.
The word alone makes me see Kill Bill in my mind.
I DO like how it rolls off the tongue!
Katana - the sword to end all swords.
Just had a convo about this weapon and the use it would be in the zombie apocalypse. Me likey the crossbow even though it totally sucks to load.
Whoops, Joshua already beat me in the comment section about this... forget my originality, lol.
'Katana' would make a cool girl's name. Of course anyone who knew their swords would think twice about messing with her! Thanks for visiting my blog today!
Katana, check.
Tanto, check.
(;
I love, love, love my brother in law's Katana! Awesome post!
(Sorry I haven't stopped by until now)
Konstanz Silverbow
nothoughts2small.blogspot.com
A to Z C-host
www.a-to-zchallenge.com
The katana plays a very important part in my book. Ever hold a real one? It's crazy light.
Awesome choice! I got to hold one of these bad boys at a writing conference last year~ they had a historical weaponry session that was very cool. I don't even write anything that uses historical weapons, but I had to attend the class.
I love swords (hubby's got two and a lightsaber) - this one's great, and I've never heard the name before.
Would it be weird to admit I own three things mentioned in this post? :) Great work, Matthew!
My son still has his two swords and a few other Ninja weapons from back in the day!...:)JP
For some odd reason, your posts are not appearing in my Google Reader anymore! Crap.
It must be one formidable weapon!
Katana also made its way to the German language.
When I hear or read Katana autmatically bandanna pops up in my mind.
Nice! Ninjas, got to love words that evoke images of ninjas. :)
Nice to find you on A-Z, by the way.
Of course I couldn't concentrate on your post Matthew as I was trying to find a synonym - like the old 'orange' or 'silver'...But no, I couldn't.
Denise
Did not know that one Matthew. Perhaps it will better allow me to blend the next time I am in a crowd of martial arts enthusiasts.
This is a cool word. I remember there was a katana cell phone out a few years ago. It was just fun to say
But the real test is whether it has a rhyming word.
Wow - great K word! :)
Now I want to rewatch the sword scenes in Kill Bill.
Hi Matthew ... that's great to know .. and if Heather's saying it's been used as 'name' for something .. I guess we'll see it cropping up more often.
And for Andrew - manyana .. another foreign word!
Cheers Hilary
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