hal·berd

(hăl′bərd, hôl′-) also hal·bert (-bərt)

A weapon of the 1400s and 1500s having an axelike blade and a steel spike mounted on the end of a long shaft.

[French hallebarde, from Old French alabarde, from Old Italian alabarda, from Middle High German helmbarde, halmbarte : helm, handle + barte, axe (from Old High German barta; see bhardh-ā- in Indo-European roots).]

hal′ber·dier′ (-bər-dîr′) n.

American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

hal•berd•ier

(ˌhæl bərˈdɪər, ˌhɔl-)

n.

a soldier, guard, or attendant armed with a halberd.

[1540–50; < Middle French]

ThesaurusAntonymsRelated WordsSynonymsLegend:

Noun

halberdier - a guard who carries a halberd (as a symbol of his duty)

guard - a person who keeps watch over something or someone

Translations

hallebardier

alabardiere

halberdier

n → Hellebardier m

Collins German Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged 7th Edition 2005. © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1980 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1997, 1999, 2004, 2005, 2007

Mentioned in

guard

References in classic literature

Jones did not think fit to acquaint the serjeant with his design; though he might have done it with great safety, for the halberdier was himself a man of honour, and had killed his man.

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He beat a retreat toward the market, but there he met Planchet with his halberdiers; their halberds were leveled at him threateningly.

The twenty men marched straight toward the barrier, but from behind the beams, from among the wagon-wheels and from the heights of the rocks a terrible fusillade burst forth and at the same time Planchet's halberdiers appeared at the corner of the Cemetery of the Innocents, and Louvieres's bourgeois at the corner of the Rue de la Monnaie.

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They were the eyes of giant crustacea crouched in their holes; giant lobsters setting themselves up like halberdiers, and moving their claws with the clicking sound of pincers; titanic crabs, pointed like a gun on its carriage; and frightful-looking poulps, interweaving their tentacles like a living nest of serpents.

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All at once, in the midst of this delicious silence, there resounded a clear ringing laugh, which caused several of the halberdiers in the enjoyment of their siesta to open at least one eye.

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First came a dozen drummers, who understood pretty well how to handle their instruments; then came halberdiers, and some armed with cross-bows.

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Two halberdiers, clad in black, guarded the drawbridge, and others, in the same sad livery, glided to and fro upon the walls with a funereal pace, resembling spectres more than soldiers.

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Its entrance was guarded by a force of halberdiers with the armorial bearings of the bishop.

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Apthorpe's company at the Halberdier mess offering Tickeridge just

Confessing Compassion: Waugh's Penitential Performance in Sword of Honour

Other acclaimed paintings, including Portrait of a Halberdier and Portrait of Carlo Neroni, will also be shown alongside their preparatory drawings.

Miraculous Encounters

Miller Cameron, of Collin, was Halberdier from 1977 to 1989 and loved his role: "A lot of hard work goes into Guid Nychburris and it is about bringing the community together.

Does everyone get involved in Guid Nychburris?