During the 17th through 19th centuries, the term was used in Europe as a ''name'' for a specific design of sword, namely a straight-bladed, double-edged, basket- Hilt ed Sword like the ItalianSchiavona or the Scottish ''' Claymore ''' (which has been used to describe both both basket-hilted blades and the more popular Greatsword ). Surviving examples of such swords are around 105 cm long (90 cm of which is blade) with a base blade width of 3.5 cm and a mass of about one kilogram.
In modern usage, "broadsword" inappropriately refers to a ''category'' of swords, specifically those whose Blade Geometry is designed for cutting and slashing attacks, as opposed to the Fencing weapons and their emphasis on thrusts and stabs. This began after the advent of the slimmer-bladed Rapier , Smallsword and épée during the Renaissance , and was picked up by museum curators during the 19th century as a catch-all for ''all'' slashing swords, including the MedievalArming Sword, ''' Longsword ''' and '''greatsword'''.
The Chinese''Dao'' is sometimes translated as "broadsword", due to its wide blade and design similarities to the European Sabre and Middle-Eastern Scimitar , both of which can be considered "broadswords" (second sense, above) due to the slashing nature of their attacks.
