What does anelace mean?
The anelace is a short dagger characteristic of the European Middle Ages, distinguished by a broad blade that tapers steadily to a sharp point. Unlike narrow stabbing knives such as the stiletto, the anelace's wide blade made it effective both for thrusting and for cutting, and it was typically worn suspended from the belt alongside other sidearms. The word appears frequently in inventories, wills, and literary references from the medieval period, and it survives today chiefly in the vocabulary of historians, collectors, museum curators, and writers of historical fiction. Its spelling varies between 'anelace' and the closely related form 'anlace', which is essentially the same weapon under an alternative name. For modern readers, encountering the term usually signals a text dealing seriously with medieval material culture, where precision about weaponry matters.
nounA short, pointed medieval dagger with a broad tapering blade, carried at the belt and used for thrusting.
- A short medieval dagger with a broad, tapering blade, worn at the belt and used primarily for thrusting.
"The knight unbuckled his anelace and laid it on the table beside his gloves."
"Among the weapons listed in the inventory was a single anelace, its blade still keen after centuries in the armory chest."
"In the museum's arms gallery, visitors can compare the slender stiletto with the wider anelace favored by fourteenth-century soldiers."
The plural appears mainly in scholarly inventories and catalogs of arms and armor.
"The armory register records three anelaces among the garrison's stores."
This broad-bladed medieval dagger may owe its name to the little ring — 'anellus' — that some say adorned its pommel.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Etymology of anelace
The anelace entered English from Old French during the medieval period, appearing in English records by the late Middle Ages. Its ultimate origin is debated: one long-standing theory derives it from Latin 'anellus', meaning a small ring, suggesting a connection to a ring-shaped feature of the dagger such as its pommel or guard, though this derivation is not firmly established. The variant form 'anlace' reflects parallel borrowing traditions, and both spellings persisted into early modern usage before the weapon itself fell out of common use.
How anelace is actually used
A historical and largely archaic term, encountered mainly in medieval history, arms-and-armor scholarship, heraldic descriptions, and historical fiction rather than everyday speech.
Easily confused with anelace
Anlace is simply a variant spelling of the same medieval dagger term, not a different weapon.