sabre

Concise Oxford English Dictionary © 2008 Oxford University Press:
sabre /ˈseɪbə/ (US saber)

▶noun

• 1 a heavy cavalry sword with a curved blade and a single cutting edge.

  ■ historical a cavalry soldier and horse.

• 2 a light fencing sword with a tapering, typically curved blade.

▶verb archaic cut down or wound with a sabre.

– origin C17: from Fr., alt. of obs. sable, from Ger. Sabel (local var. of Säbel), from Hungarian szablya.