Word Pronunciation & Dictionary

glaive

/ɡleɪv/

Word Rarity Very rare

Frequency: 1.94 in modern English

Syllables
glaive
IPA
/ɡleɪv/
10
Scrabble Score
6
Letters
1
Syllables
6
Unique Chars

Meaning

noun

A light lance with a long, sharp-pointed head.

Obsolete

noun

A sword, particularly a broadsword.

Archaic

Example Sentences

Etymology

From Middle English gleyve (“lance, glaive”), from Old French glaive (“lance; sword”), from Late Latin glavus. The further etymology is uncertain; one possibility is that glavus reflects Latin gladius (“sword”) crossed with clāva (“club”); another is that it derives from a re-crossing of gladius with Proto-Celtic *kladiwos (“sword”); yet another is that it is a borrowing into Late Latin from Old Irish claideb. All of the aforementioned words derive ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *kelh₂- (“to beat; to break”). The Oxford English Dictionary notes that none of these words had the oldest meaning of Old French glaive (“lance”). The English word is cognate with Middle Dutch glavie, glaye (“lance”); Middle High German glavîe, glævîn (“lance”), Swedish glaven (“lance”).

Origin

Word Breakdown

  • Root: *kelh₂-, gleyve, glaive, glavus, gladius, *kladiwos

Regional Pronunciation

  • American English: /ɡleɪv/
  • British English: /ɡleɪv/

Usage

Inflected Forms

Derived Forms

Phrases

Frequently Paired Words

Homonyms

Rhymes With

Questions

How do you pronounce glaive?
The recorded pronunciation is /ɡleɪv/.
What does glaive mean?
A light lance with a long, sharp-pointed head.
Where does glaive come from?
It is traced to Middle English.

How to pronounce glaive

  1. Open the pronunciation page — Open the Speakur entry for “glaive”.
  2. Read the phonetic spelling — Read the IPA spelling (/ɡleɪv/) so you know which sounds to aim for.
  3. Play the audio — Click Play to hear reference audio for “glaive”.
  4. Repeat and practice — Say “glaive” aloud, matching stress and vowels until it feels natural.