Weapons & war terms

His forHilt

The hilt or haft of a sword is its handle. Some sword hilts are quite elaborate, and have a guard between the hilt and blade to protect the user's hands from damage.

Weapons

Photo by Jay Boucher

Jis forJavelin

A javelin is a kind of spear that is usually used in competitive sport, where the person who throws the javelin the furthest wins.

Weapons, Sports

Photo by Aske Holst

Jis forJoust

Jousting is a medieval sport where two people on horses run at each other on either side of a barrier. Each person wears armour and wields a lance. The object is to knock your opponent off his horse.

Weapons

Photo by Sonja Pieper

Kis forKnife

A knife is used for cutting food. There are many different kinds of knife. Blunt knives are used for spreading butter, and very big sharp knives are used for cutting up roast meat.

Table setting, Weapons

Photo by Gareth Davies

Lis forLance

A lance is a kind of spear designed to be held by riders on horseback. Lances were most often used in jousting.

Weapons

Photo by Kyle Simourd

Landmines are explosive devices that are triggered when someone stands on them or a vehicle drives on them. An area that is studded with landmines is called a minefield. The mines are usually buried just under the ground so that people can't see them. They are used to keep people from going through an area during a war. The problem with landmines is, after a war is over there may be thousands of landmines still left in the ground, and noone knows exactly where they are. So they kill people when they go to start a farm, or children who are exploring. Even the process of removing them is extremely dangerous as they can explode at the slightest touch.

Weapons

Photo by Josh Hallett

Mis forMace

A mace is a medieval weapon, similar to a club but with an end designed to maximize damage. Some maces simply have a studded ball at the end, others have the ball on a chain. Mace is also a spice, see nutmeg.

Weapons

Photo by Out of ideas

Mis forMachete

A machete is a kind of large knife that is used in tropical areas to cut through jungle or to harvest sugarcane. It is also used as a tool for cutting up food, or for carving wood. Because machetes are so common in tropical regions they are also used as a weapon.

Tools, Weapons